OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the complementary feeding practices and the factors associated with the appropriate timing of complementary feeding in children under one year of age. METHODS: The parents or caregivers of 1,176 children who attended the National Immunization Campaign in São Bernardo do Campo, Southeastern Brazil, in 2003 were interviewed to determine what the child was fed in the 24 hours prior to the interview. The prevalence of complementary food intake was estimated by a logistic regression model adjusted for age; the medians of the introduction of foods by survival analysis; and the factors associated with timely complementary feeding by Poisson regression with robust adjustment of variance and hierarchical variable selection. RESULTS: Complementary foods were introduced early: in the fourth month of age, nearly one-third of the children were already consuming fruit juices and one-fourth were consuming soft foods, fruits or soups. They were less likely to eat the same food as the family at eight months of age (48%). The median age for fruit intake was 266 days (95%CI 256-275), for vegetable soup was 258 days (95%CI 250-264) and for family meals 292 days (95%CI 287-303). Factors associated with the intake of solid foods before age six months were: healthcare system, maternal age, maternal employment and use of pacifiers. CONCLUSION: The early consumption of solid foods, a potential risk for the child's health and for the development of chronic diseases in adulthood, evidences the need for programmatic actions to reverse this situation.
Breast feeding; Supplementary feeding; Food habits; Infant nutrition