Brazilian health professionals’ perception about the Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) method for complementary feeding: an exploratory study

Objective: To describe Brazilian health professionals’ perception about the Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) method use for complementary feeding. Methods: Cross-sectional, descriptive study including 458 health professionals graduated in Nursing, Speech Therapy, Medicine, Nutrition or Dentistry and working in Pediatrics, being directly or indirectly involved with pediatric nutrition. We used a convenience non-probability sampling. The questionnaire applied to participants addressed demographic characteristics, academic degree, workplace, knowledge about clinical practice and perceptions about the possible advantages of the BLW method. Results: Participants had a mean age of 34.5±8.5 years, 64.6% of them working in Southeast Brazil and 65.3% being nutritionists. Most participants reported being acquainted with the BLW method (82.0%). Regarding clinical practice, 38.3% mentioned having recommended the BLW some times, 37.5% often and 20.5% always. Most participants fully agreed that the BLW method could have advantages for babies, for example, having them more likely to share family meals, facilitating adaptation to food flavors and consistencies, enhancing chewing and favoring the development of motor skills. On the other hand, important disagreements were also expressed regarding the BLW convenience and the possibility to create less concerns or anxiety in parents. Conclusions: The BLW method reported as advantageous, but disagreements were also raised, probably because scientific evidences on the suject are scarse. Further investigation is needed so we can better understand the risks and benefits and health care professionals can feel effectively assisted to offer support and advice to parents and caretakers.

Precision Food Parenting: A Proposed Conceptual Model and Research Agenda

Precision medicine, nutrition and behavioral interventions are attempting to move beyond the specification of therapies applied to groups, since some people benefit, some do not and some are harmed by the same therapy. Instead, precision therapies are attempting to employ diverse sets of data to individualize or tailor interventions to optimize the benefits for the receiving individuals. The benefits to be achieved are mostly in the distant future, but the research needs to start now. While precision pediatric nutrition will combine diverse demographic, behavioral and biological variables to specify the optimal foods a child should eat to optimize health, precision food parenting will combine diverse parent and child psychosocial and related variables to identify the optimal parenting practices to help a specific child accept and consume the precision nutrition specified foods. This paper presents a conceptual overview and hypothetical model of factors we believe are needed to operationalize precision food parenting and a proposed research agenda to better understand the many specified relationships, how they change over the age of the child, and how to operationalize them to encourage food parenting practices most likely to be effective at promoting healthy child food choices.

Effect of Lactoferrin Supplementation on Appetite And Weight Loss In Obese School Age Children

Background Obesity is one of the most common nutritional disorders in the world. Increased appetite is one of the main causes of obesity. Objective The aim of this study was to determine the effect of lactoferrin on weight loss and appetite in obese school age children. Subjects & Methods This was a double arm prospective clinical trial which done on 50 obese children with an age range of 6-12 years. The children were recruited from Pediatric Nutrition Clinic of Ain Shams University. The children were equally divided into two groups; one group received 200 mg of oral lactoferrin for 12 weeks in addition to diet regimen and exercise. The other group did not receive lactoferrin but was only on exercise and diet regimen. Anthropometric measurements, body composition, dietetic history and appetite assessment using Child Eating Behavioral Questionnaire (CEBQ) were done for both groups before and after intervention. Results The results of our study revealed decrease in anthropometric measurements, serum leptin and Child Eating Behavioral Questionnaire (CEBQ) after lactoferrin supplementation. However, our study revealed only statistical significant decrease in CEBQ score after lactoferrin supplementation. Conclusion Despite decreasing weight, lactoferrin intake had no impact on weight loss when compared to patients who did not take lactoferrin. Lactoferrin intake decreased appetite in school aged obese children.

Ingestione di corpi estranei e di caustici nei bambini

Foreign bodies or caustic ingestion is a frequent occurrence in children and can result in significant morbidity. Managing these conditions requires different levels of experience and expertise. An en-doscopy is often necessary but an incorrect use of this procedure is common. Indications and timing of endoscopy mainly depends on the clinical conditions of the child, the type of object and its posi-tion or the type of substance. The Italian Society of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Pediatric Nutrition (SIGENP) together with the Italian Association of Gastroenterologists and Hospital En-doscopists (AIGO) has produced the first Italian guidelines for the management of the ingestion of foreign and caustic bodies in children.

Micronutrient Monitoring and Management in Parenteral Nutrition–Dependent Premature Neonates: A Case Series

We present a prospective case series of 3 premature neonates with abnormal vitamin A, vitamin E, and selenium levels after being managed on prolonged parenteral nutrition (PN). All 3 patients experienced gastrointestinal complications including spontaneous intestinal perforation, necrotizing enterocolitis, and/or short bowel syndrome. Additionally, all 3 patients developed PN-associated liver disease, which required the use of a mixed lipid emulsion and a fish oil–based lipid emulsion for a short period of time. We evaluated the micronutrient levels of these patients after they had been receiving PN for 1 to 2 months. After the early identification of these abnormalities, we promptly attempted to correct the levels through supplementation and restriction, as appropriate. One barrier we experienced in the treatment of these patients was the conflicting guidance of daily micronutrient dosing in PN and when to evaluate levels in premature infants from the European and American pediatric nutrition organizations, the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition and the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. Additionally, after we assessed micronutrient levels, we experienced a lack of guidance on how to adjust dosing and when to monitor subsequent levels.

Can Nutrition Play a Role as a Stimulant for COVID 19 in Children?

Background: Nutrition plays a major part in the growth and well-being of a child and forms the basis of their existence. A global pandemic like COVID19 poses some serious questions and challenges in the minds of practicing pediatricians as what support to offer our children, theirparents and carers-alleviating their anxiety about their child’s diet and nutrition, that is critical at this time of crisis. Although the evidence for pediatric nutrition and COVID19 is not strong, this article aims to critically look into pediatric nutrition during COVID19 pandemic and bring the most recent evidence into limelight and making the right choices with pediatric nutrition. Methods: We performed a search on recent literature using the search terms “Covid19” + “Children” + “Nutrition” to analyze the current evidence supporting nutrition as a stimulant for covid19. A review article based on the above search results was written to highlight the importance of nutrition during this pandemic. Results: Strong recommendations remain unchanged for breast feeding, healthy complimentary feeding, use of supplemental formula where appropriate, Oral nutritional supplements, Zinc, n-3& n- 6 fatty acids, probiotics all have a certain role to play as a stimulant for Covid19 in children. Conclusion: Current evidence emphasizes the use of additional nutritional supplements especially in the “at risk” groups, low socio-economic status and children with chronic medical problems. Paediatric nutrition should never be overlooked and “one size does not fit all” as every child is different and their individual nutritional needs vary. This review points at the importance nutrition as a stimulant to covid19 in the pediatric population.

195 Nutritional Influences on Brain and Cognitive Development

Nutrient ingestion during the prenatal and early-postnatal periods has profound effects on the developing brain and serves to shape the behaviors of young pigs. The pig is a versatile animal model for research in both the agriculture and human clinical realms, largely based on similarities in patterns of structural brain development between these species. Validated and sensitive neuroimaging techniques and assays for testing specific behaviors exist for the pig. While these readouts refer to cognitive performance indicators in the human context, the same behavioral measurements may refer to welfare states in animal agriculture. Recent nutrition studies, including those involving interactions with the intestinal microbiota, confirm the importance of early-life ingestion of iron, choline, milk-derived components, and even non-digestible fiber sources in shaping pig brain development and behaviors. Importantly, dietary patterns of the young pig can either support or hinder brain development and associated behaviors relative to age-matched controls. There are many advantages to translating evidence from pediatric nutrition research to animal agriculture by integrating outcomes related to the microbiota, gut-brain axis, and processes associated with cognitive function and brain development. Thus, studying the relationship between nutrition and neurodevelopment should be considered as an essential part of swine production.