The Importance of Dietary Quality versus Quantity for Weanlings in Less Developed Countries: A Framework for Discussion

Weanlings in less developed countries commonly grow more slowly than reference populations from industrialized societies. Although the functional implications of these different patterns of growth are not certain, it is generally believed that children's diets should permit full expression of their growth potential. To achieve this goal, the focus of public health nutrition programmes in less developed countries has evolved from an earlier emphasis on enhanced protein consumption to a current emphasis on increased energy intake. However, these programmes often neglect consideration of the quality of weanlings’ diets and its potential importance for a variety of functional outcomes, including its relation to appetite and energy consumption. These issues are discussed in greater detail, and a conceptual framework is presented for the classification of different aspects of dietary quality.