Peer-reviewed article
Association of Maternal Consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods with Feeding Practices and Malnutrition in Breastfed Infants: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Juliana Morais de Sousa, Danielle Soares Bezerra, Lara Virginia Pessoa de Lima, Priscila Gomes de Oliveira, Nicolie Mattenhauer de Oliveira et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined whether mothers who eat ultra-processed foods during breastfeeding have infants with more malnutrition problems. Researchers measured the diets of 111 mothers and their infants up to 5 months old. Infants whose mothers ate high amounts of ultra-processed foods (more than 32% of their diet) were significantly more likely to be malnourished, either by being underweight and stunted or overweight. The findings suggest that maternal diet during lactation affects infant health outcomes.
Key points
- Ultra-processed foods made up about 26% of mothers' diets on average
- 71.2% of infants were exclusively breastfed
- One-third of infants were overweight and 11.7% were stunted
- High maternal UPF consumption was associated with 3.38 times higher odds of malnutrition by BMI-for-age and 3.89 times higher odds of stunting
- Infant feeding practices (exclusive breastfeeding) showed no association with malnutrition outcomes
Limitations
The study is cross-sectional and cannot establish causation, only association. The specific country/population is not identified in the available text, and the sample size of 111 dyads is relatively small.
Abstract
Although the adverse health effects of consuming ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are well-documented, limited evidence exists on their impact during lactation. This study examined the association between maternal UPF consumption, feeding practices, and malnutrition in breastfed infants. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted with 111 mother-child pairs up to 150 days postpartum. Infant feeding practices were assessed using WHO indicators, and malnutrition was evaluated by length-for-age and BMI-for-age. Maternal dietary intake was estimated using two 24 h recalls, and UPF consumption was classified by the Nova classification. Dyads were grouped based on the highest UPF consumption quartile, and adjusted binary logistic regression was applied. UPFs accounted for 26% of the maternal diet on average. While 71.2% of infants were exclusively breastfed, one-third were overweight, and 11.7% were stunted. High maternal UPF consumption (>32% of energy) was associated with increased odds of malnutrition by BMI-for-age (wasting or overweight) (OR 3.38; 95% CI: 1.29-8.83) and stunting (OR 3.89; 95% CI: 1.04-14.58). Feeding practices showed no association. These findings highlight that maternal UPF consumption is associated with malnutrition odds in breastfed infants in the population assessed, emphasizing the need for dietary guidance during lactation to improve infant health outcomes.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Reduction of maternal ultra-processed food consumption during lactation
- Population
- 111 mother-infant pairs up to 150 days postpartum
Key finding
High maternal UPF consumption (>32% of energy) was associated with OR 3.38 (95% CI: 1.29-8.83) for malnutrition by BMI-for-age