Animal Source Foods and Infant Dietary Quality

Objectives: Animal source foods are good sources of protein and other nutrients, such as iron and zinc, that are often suboptimal in diets of infants and young children; yet how intake of animal source foods contributes to overall dietary quality in infants is unknown. We therefore sought to examine the role of animal source foods during complementary feeding in relation to infant dietary quality. Methods: Dyads were enrolled from federally qualified health centers and via social media to a prospective intervention trial from 2021-2024 and followed for 7 months. Data from a subset of primary caregiver-infant dyads (n=44, 72% Hispanic, 50% WIC) recruited in Austin, Texas, United States were analyzed. Usual dietary intake was assessed with a 24-hour diet recall and food frequency questionnaire collected by trained study staff at 5, 6, 9, 10, and 12 months. The Infant Diet Quality Index (IDQI) (scale 0-1), a 16-component measure has been used to assess overall infant diet quality without specifically including animal source foods in its equation, was calculated with higher scores indicating higher dietary quality. Multivariable linear regression models were used to examine the relationship between animal source foods (beef, poultry, egg, fish, pork) and IDQI, adjusting for infant age, primary caregiver education, ethnicity, and WIC enrollment. Results: At 12 months, mean±SD IDQI was 0.51±0.10. At 12 months, the most consumed animal source food was poultry (83%) followed by egg (81%), beef (67%), fish (35%), and pork (22%). In adjusted models, animal source introduction by 7 months was associated with 0.10 units higher IDQI at 12 months (95% CI 0.01, 0.18, p=0.03). Eating poultry, eggs or fish before 12 months was also associated with higher IDQI at 12 months: 0.16 (0.06,0.25, p=0.003), 0.10 (0.1, 0.19, p=0.04) and 0.08 (0.01, 0.15, p=0.01), respectively, while beef and pork were not associated with IDQI. Conclusions: Consumption of any animal source foods early in complementary feeding, and certain animal source foods during infancy are associated with higher dietary quality at 12 months. Future research should continue to encourage adequate intake of a variety of animal source foods and focus on parent education of complementary feeding. Funding Sources: ENC, NCBA, NBP, St. David's Foundation.