Tracking of dietary patterns from early childhood to school age in the Brazilian Food and Nutritional Surveillance System, 2008-2019.

OBJECTIVE

(i) Define children's dietary patterns at three developmental stages - early childhood (1 to < 3 years), preschool age (3 to < 6 years) and school age (6 to < 11 years) - and assess transitions over time and (ii) verify the association between exposure to exclusive breast-feeding and the trajectory of patterns.

DESIGN

Cohort study using 2008-2019 data from the Brazilian Food and Nutritional Surveillance System.

SETTING

Standardised markers of previous-day food intake identified dietary patterns. Latent transition analysis assessed shifts over time and estimated the effect of exclusive breast-feeding for 3-6 months on dietary pattern transitions.

PARTICIPANTS

135 340 children.

RESULTS

Two dietary patterns emerged: higher ultra-processed food intake and lower ultra-processed food intake. Patterns showed notable stability over time. Exclusively breastfed children following a lower ultra-processed food pattern in early childhood had 11 % higher odds (OR = 1·11, 95 % CI = 1·06, 1·16) of maintaining this pattern at preschool age. Exclusively breastfed children in the lower ultra-processed food pattern had a 10 % lower likelihood (OR = 0·90, 95 % CI = 0·86, 0·95) of transitioning to a higher ultra-processed food pattern at preschool age.

CONCLUSION

Dietary patterns in Brazilian children showed significant stability from early childhood to school age. Exclusive breast-feeding may protect against transitioning to high ultra-processed food patterns.