Energy and nutrient contribution of different food groups to the dietary intake of 6- to <9-month-old infants in a low socioeconomic community in North West Province, South Africa

Figures & data

Table 1: Food-group classification for the foods and drinks reported during the 24-hour recall period

Breastmilk: Breastmilk

Grains, roots, and tubers: Infant cereals Maize meal porridge (soft, stiff) Breakfast cereals (weetbix) Bread (white, brown) Home-made bread Rice Potatoes Sweet potatoes

Legumes and nuts: Peanut butter

Dairy: Infant formula Yoghurt Cow’s milk (maas, fresh milk)

Flesh foods: Organ meats (chicken liver, beef lung) Chicken Minced meat Sausage

Eggs: Eggs

Fruits and vegetables: Apple Banana Pear Beetroot Gem squash Baby foods (fruit) Baby foods (vegetables) 100% baby fruit juices 100% baby vegetable juices

Vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables: Mango Apricot Papaya Carrots Butternut Dark green vegetables Baby foods (vitamin A-rich vegetables) 100% baby vitamin A-rich vegetable juices 100% baby vitamin A-rich fruit juices

Note: Baby juices and baby foods were grouped according to the main ingredient

Table 2: Sociodemographic and household characteristic of study participants

Characteristics	Total (n = 155)
Infants:
Age (months), median (IQR)	7 (6, 8)
Gender: Males, n (%)	78 (50.3)
Females, n (%)	77 (49.7)
Mother/caregiver:
Relationship to infant: Mother, n (%)	145 (93.5)
Other (father, grandma, aunt), n (%)	10 (6.5)
Age (years), median (IQR)	28 (24; 33)
Education, Grade 10 or higher, n (%)	125 (80.6)
Married, n (%)	14 (9.0)
Household:
Number of people in household; median (IQR)	6 (4; 7)
People in household employed (median, IQR)	1 (0; 1)
People in household receiving child grant (median, IQR)	2 (2; 3)
Flush toilet at home, n (%)	139 (89.7)
Tap water at home,^a n (%)	144 (94.1)
Electricity inside the home, n (%)	134 (86.5)

^a Either inside (34.6%) or outside (59.5%) the house, missing n = 2.

Table 3: Median intakes and interquartile ranges for total energy and nutrient intakes for infants at age 6 to <9 months (n = 144)

Nutrient	DRI 6–12 months	Median (IQR) % < EAR
Energy (kJ)	See note^a	3 030 (2 601; 3 587)
Protein (g)	1.0 (g/kg)^b	15.0 (11.0; 20.3)
Fat (g)	30^b	33.5 (29.5; 37.6)
Carbohydrates (g)	95^c	91 (75.4; 116.8)
Calcium (mg)	260^d	424 (317; 553)
Iron (mg)	6.9^b	6.0 (2.7; 9.7) 58.3%
Zinc (mg)	2.5^b	3.4 (2.4; 5.2) 27.1%
Vitamin A (µg RE)	500^c	663 (518; 857)
Thiamine (mg)	0.3^c	0.5 (0.3; 0.9)
Riboflavin (mg)	0.4^c	0.6 (0.4; 0.9)
Niacin (mg)	4^c	3.9 (2.6; 5.7)
Vitamin B6 (mg)	0.3^c	0.4 (0.2; 0.6)
Folate (µg)	80^c	95.4 (63.2; 158.6)
Vitamin B12 (µg)	0.5^c	1.0 (0.5; 1.4)
Vitamin C (mg)	50^c	69.7 (49.5; 96.4)
MAR	1	0.9 (0.8; 1.0)

DRI: dietary reference intakes; g: grams; mg: milligram; μg: microgram; IQR: interquartile range; MAR: Mean adequacy ratio; RE: retinol equivalents.

^a Energy intake in kilojoules of the US DRI published by the Institute of Medicine.²³ age 6 months (boys 2 709; girls 2 535).

^b EAR of the US DRI published by the Institute of Medicine.²²

^c AI of the US DRI published by the Institute of Medicine.²²

^d AI of the US DRI published by the Institute of Medicine for calcium and vitamin D.²⁴

Figure 1: Percentage of infants who consumed different food groups on the day of recall (n = 144). ‘Grains, roots, and tubers’ include infant cereals; dairy includes formula milk; F&V: fruits and vegetables.

Table 4: Percentage contribution of different food groups towards total energy and nutrient intake of consumers at age 6 to <9 months

	Breast milk (n = 97)	Grains, roots and tubers (n = 138)	Dairy (n = 97)	Animal-source foods^a (n = 24)	Fruits and vegetables (n = 61)
Factor	Median (IQR)	Median (IQR)	Median (IQR)	Median (IQR)	Median (IQR)
Energy	63.9 (55.8; 73.9)	23.6 (16.7; 32.1)	21.1 (11.5; 52.6)	10.0 (5.4; 15.7)	5.9 (3.6; 14.7)
Protein	49.2 (39.9; 65.6)	25.5 (16.8; 38.5)	38.5 (18.7; 63.3)	33.4 (21.3; 40.4)	4.2 (1.7; 7.4)
Fat	82.5 (76.2; 93.1)	4.6 (2.3; 9.1)	20.7 (9.8; 76.7)	15.5 (5.4; 31.5)	0.3 (0.1; 0.7)
Carbohydrates	51.0 (40.3; 61.1)	36.6 (27.3; 46.2)	20.9 (10.4; 42.9)	0.5 (0.2; 1.1)	10.7 (5.8; 24.2)
Calcium	57.1 (42.5; 69.7)	22.5 (8.6; 35.0)	48.1 (27.8; 81.6)	2.8 (0.8; 6.9)	1.5 (0.6; 3.5)
Iron	4.8 (2.8; 9.2)	75.4 (46.9; 87.8)	24.8 (6.3; 50.3)	19.2 (7.2; 35.8)	4.9 (1.8; 9.1)
Zinc	41.8 (31.8; 52.0)	37.6 (24.1; 51.2)	37.4 (17.1; 64.4)	15.2 (9.6; 24.5)	3.3 (1.6; 7.3)
Vitamin A	62.3 (48.3; 78.0)	21.7 (11.0; 35.6)	22.5 (11.1; 63.3)	6.4 (1.2; 12.3)	3.4 (0.6; 27.2)
Thiamine	4.0 (2.3; 6.0)	53.0 (37.3; 70.7)	32.2 (10.5; 57.2)	8.5 (4.5; 21.9)	4.9 (2.0; 9.3)
Riboflavin	44.9 (32.3; 60.2)	22.0. (12.5; 36.6)	52.4 (30.5; 76.1)	17.5 (6.3; 36.3)	4.0 (1.4; 7.6)
Niacin	36.9 (25.1; 51.0)	46.9 (31.7; 60.7)	27.6 (5.5; 53.1)	3.3 (0.9; 27.2)	8.1 (3.1; 14.4)
Vitamin B6	21.6 (14.9; 32.0)	49.0 (29.0; 65.7)	33.1 (15.9; 55.9)	7.6 (3.0; 17.5)	16.0 (6.5; 35.4)
Folate	41.5 (30.6; 55.5)	42.5 (27.0; 63.0)	24.4 (8.5; 52.0)	11.8 (0.1; 25.2)	1.3 (0.0; 5.0)
Vitamin B12	42.3 (28.8; 73.4)	5.0 (0.0; 32.0)	55.0 (32.4; 81.9)	42.8 (30.2; 70.9)	0
Vitamin C	53.8 (37.4; 70.2)	31.8 (15.0; 48.7)	21.2 (3.6; 54.8)	0	17.3 (4.9; 32.2)

IQR: interquartile range.

^a Animal source foods are a combination of flesh foods and eggs.

Table 5: Total energy and nutrient intake of consumers versus non-consumers of different food groups at age 6–9 months^a

Factor	Breast milk			Dairy
	Consumers (n = 97) Median (IQR)	Non-consumers (n = 47) Median (IQR)	p-value^b	Consumers (n = 97) Median (IQR)	Non-consumers (n = 47) Median (IQR)	p-value^b
Energy (kJ)	3 132 (2 718; 3 587)	2 642 (1 944; 3 656)	< 0.001	3 141 (2 636; 3 751)	2 861 (2 445; 3 296)	0.051
Protein (g)	14.1 (10.5; 17.4)	17.6 (12.8; 23.5)	0.023	16.7 (13.7; 22.5)	11.0 (9.7; 15.5)	< 0.001
Fat (g)	35.8 (32.0; 38.7)	20.5 (13.9; 29.9)	< 0.001	33.8 (21.4; 38.1)	32.2 (30.8; 36.1)	0.826
Carbohydrates (g)	91.0 (76.0; 115.3)	91.9 (73.8; 117.6)	0.740	96.9 (72.4; 119.2)	84.1 (65.8; 97.0)	0.004
Calcium (mg)	378 (312; 508)	538 (415; 846)	< 0.001	495 (400; 593)	310 (244; 377)	< 0.001
Iron (mg)	4.2 (2.1; 7.0)	10.0 (6.8; 15.0)	< 0.001	7.1 (4.2; 11.4)	2.9 (1.6; 5.5)	< 0.001
Zinc (mg)	2.7 (2.2;3.6)	5.3 (3.6; 8.2)	< 0.001	4.2 (3.3; 5.9)	2.2 (1.6; 2.6)	< 0.001
Vitamin A (µg RE)	662 (529; 854)	670 (485; 870)	0.425	693 (542; 894)	592 (498; 781)	0.038
Thiamine (mg)	0.4 (0.2; 0.6)	0.9 (0.6; 1.3)	< 0.001	0.7 (0.4; 1.1)	0.3 (0.2; 0.5)	< 0.001
Riboflavin (mg)	0.5 (0.4; 0.7)	1.1 (0.7; 1.5)	< 0.001	0.8 (0.6; 1.1)	0.4 (0.3; 0.4)	< 0.001
Niacin (mg)	3.2 (2.3; 4.7)	5.2 (3.5; 7.3)	< 0.001	4.6 (3.1; 6.4)	2.8 (1.8; 4.0)	< 0.001
Vitamin B6 (mg)	0.3 (0.2; 0.4)	0.6 (0.5; 0.9)	< 0.001	0.5 (0.3; 0.7)	0.2 (0.1; 0.4)	< 0.001
Folate (µg)	81.3 (60.7; 110.1)	146.7 (81.3; 210.2)	< 0.001	110.0 (72.2; 185.2)	71.6 (54.5; 96.6)	< 0.001
Vitamin B12 (µg)	0.7 (0.4; 1.8)	1.4 (0.9; 2.0)	< 0.001	1.2 (0.8; 1.7)	0.4 (0.3; 0.7)	< 0.001
Vitamin C (mg)	63.7 (48.0; 90.0)	89.3 (58.7; 121.2)	0.006	80.0 (55.9; 98.2)	57.7 (43.2; 77.1)	0.004

	Animal-source foods			Fruits and vegetables
Factor	Consumers (n = 24) Median (IQR)	Non-consumers (n = 120) Median (IQR)	p-value^b	Consumers (n = 61) Median (IQR)	Non-consumers (n = 83) Median (IQR)	p-value^b
Energy (kJ)	3 517 (2 996; 4 057)	2 974 (2 437; 3 539)	< 0.002	3 132 (2 623; 3 814)	3 007 (2 445; 3 406)	0.077
Protein (g)	23.1 (17.5; 30.0)	14.8 (10.3; 17.4)	< 0.001	15.8 (11.0; 21.0)	14.6 (10.9; 19.6)	0.228
Fat (g)	39.0 (34.6; 46.1)	32.1 (28.6; 36.8)	< 0.001	33.7 (29.6; 37.6)	33.5 (29.5; 37.8)	0.933
Carbohydrates (g)	96.5 (77.1; 131.2)	89.5 (75.4; 116.2)	0.363	96.8 (79.6; 125.3)	86.7 (73.8; 111.9)	0.009
Calcium (mg)	472 (350; 559)	421 (312; 552)	0.268	455 (328; 548)	410 (310; 558)	0.444
Iron (mg)	5.8 (3.9; 9.2)	6.2 (2.4; 9.7)	0.663	6.5 (3.7; 9.7)	5.2 (2.4; 10.8)	0.520
Zinc (mg)	3.4 (2.9; 9.2)	3.3 (2.3;5.1)	0.067	3.4 (2.4; 5.0)	3.3 (2.3; 5.3)	0.829
Vitamin A (µg RE)	599 (517; 1034)	668 (520; 847)	0.911	720 (588; 1018)	594 (504; 783)	< 0.002
Thiamine (mg)	0.5 (0.3; 1.1)	0.5 (0.3; 0.9)	0.663	0.6 (0.3; 0.9)	0.5 (0.3; 0.8)	0.359
Riboflavin (mg)	0.8 (0.5; 1.3)	0.6 (0.4; 0.9)	0.016	0.7 (0.4; 1.0)	0.6 (0.4; 0.9)	0.334
Niacin (mg)	5.8 (3.4; 8.0)	3.6 (2.5; 5.3)	0.008	4.3 (2.8; 6.4)	3.5 (2.4; 5.3)	0.091
Vitamin B6 (mg)	0.5 (0.2; 0.9)	0.4 (0.2; 0.6)	0.058	0.5 (0.3; 0.7)	0.3 (0.2; 0.6)	0.018
Folate (µg)	102.4 (75.4; 152.8)	90.9 (60,9; 161.9)	0.358	108.9 (62.9; 117.8)	90.3 (63.2; 152.7)	0.450
Vitamin B12 (µg)	1.9 (1.1; 3.7)	0.8 (0.4; 1.2)	< 0.001	1.0 (0.5; 1.5)	0.9 (0.5; 1.4)	0.787
Vitamin C (mg)	57.2 (41.4; 95.1)	71.9 (51.2; 96.4)	0.233	81.3 (59.9; 119.2)	58.2 (43.8; 90.1)	< 0.001

IQR: interquartile range; g: grams; mg: milligram, μg: microgram RE: retinol equivalent.

^a Consumers are those infants that consumed food groups on the day of recall. Non-consumers are those infants that did not consume food groups on the day of recall.

^b P < 0.05 indicates significant differences and is formatted in bold type; consumers and non-consumers were compared using the Mann–Whitney U test.

Table 6: Median (interquartile range) for micronutrient density (amount per 418 kJ) between consumers and non-consumers of different food groups at age 6–9 months

Factor	Breast milk			Dairy
	Consumers (n = 97) Median (IQR)	Non-consumers (n = 47) Median (IQR)	p-value^a	Consumers (n = 97) Median (IQR)	Non-consumers (n = 47) Median (IQR)	p-value^a
Protein (g/418 kJ)	1.80 (1.60; 2.15)	2.83 (2.44; 3.12)	< 0.001	2.38 (1.91; 2.86)	1.70 (1.45; 1.88)	< 0.001
Calcium (mg/418 kJ)	50.41 (43.61; 61.56)	89.21 (67.10; 107.15)	< 0.001	66.45 (52.91; 90.38)	46.29 (40.10; 55.59)	< 0.001
Iron (mg418 kJ)	0.50 (0.30; 0.86)	1.51 (1.13; 2.14)	< 0.001	1.04 (0.49; 1.59)	0.49 (0.26; 0.82)	< 0.001
Zinc (mg/ 418 kJ)	0.37 (0.31; 0.45)	0.80 (0.70; 1.05)	< 0.001	0.59 (0.40; 0.81)	0.31 (0.27; 0.35)	< 0.001
Vitamin A (µg RE/418 kJ)	85.04 (75.42; 104.43)	100.49 (83.36; 119.40)	< 0.001	94.76 (78.29;114.14)	86.17 (70.10; 105.22)	0.352
Thiamine (mg/418 kJ)	0.05 (0.03; 0.07)	0.16 (0.13; 0.18)	< 0.001	0.09 (0.06; 0.16)	0.05 (0.03; 0.06)	< 0.001
Riboflavin (mg/418 kJ)	0.07 (0.05; 0.08)	0.17 (0.13; 0.22)	< 0.001	0.11 (0.08; 0.17)	0.05 (0.05; 0.06)	< 0.001
Niacin (mg/418 kJ)	0.44 (0.35; 0.57)	0.82 (0.66; 1.01)	< 0.001	0.62 (0.45; 0.82)	0.39 (0.32; 0.51)	< 0.001
Vitamin B6 (mg/418 kJ)	0.04 (0.03; 0.06)	0.10 (0.09; 0.12)	< 0.001	0.07 (0.04; 0.10)	0.03 (0.03; 0.05)	< 0.001
Folate (µg/418 kJ)	10.45 (8.49; 13.82)	20.36 (13.86; 28.24)	< 0.001	14.56 9.96; (23.87)	9.77 (8.26; 13.06)	< 0.001
Vitamin B12 (µg/418 kJ)	0.09 (0.06; 0.14)	0.22 (0.19;0.29)	< 0.001	0.16 (0.12; 0.23)	0.07 (0.05; 0.09)	< 0.001
Vitamin C (mg/418 kJ)	8.89 (6.40; 11.22)	13.42 (10.61; 16.90)	< 0.001	10.78 (7.72; 13.88)	9.16 (6.41; 11.27)	0.024

Factor	Animal-source foods			Fruits and vegetables
	Consumers (n = 24) Median (IQR)	Non-consumers (n = 120) Median (IQR)	p-value^a	Consumers (n = 61) Median (IQR)	Non-consumers (n = 83) Median (IQR)	p-value^a
Protein (g/418 kJ)	2.92 (2.38; 3.13)	1.94 (1.63; 2.43)	< 0.001	2.04 (1.65; 2.69)	2.08 (1.76; 2.84)	0.886
Calcium (mg/418 kJ)	51.26 (43.11; 65.52)	60.84 (47.78; 79.09)	0.148	56.52 (47.97; 77.09)	58.48 (46.80; 74.96)	0.620
Iron (mg/418 kJ)	0.68 (0.46; 1.07)	0.81 (0.39; 1.50)	0.641	0.79 (0.44; 1.25)	0.77 (0.38; 1.51)	0.960
Zinc (mg/418 kJ)	0.43 (0.37; 0.61)	0.44 (0.32; 0.71)	0.513	0.40 (0.32; 0.72)	0.45 (0.35; 0.71)	0.377
Vitamin A (µg RE/418 kJ)	79.50 (59.40; 112.32)	93.99 (78.46; 112.33)	0.063	98.00 (77.87; 140.39)	87.85 (75.50; 105.04)	0.046
Thiamine (mg/418 kJ)	0.05 (0.04; 0.09)	0.06 (0.04; 0.14)	0.376	0.06 (0.05; 0.13)	0.06 (0.04; 0.14)	0.940
Riboflavin (mg/418 kJ)	0.09 (0.07; 0.16)	0.08 (0.06; 0.13)	0.247	0.08 (0.06; 0.15)	0.08 (0.06; 0.13)	0.950
Niacin (mg/418 kJ)	0.56 (0.47; 0.87)	0.51 (0.38; 0.75)	0.173	0.56 (0.39; 0.78)	0.51 (0.37; 0.76)	0.436
Vitamin B6 (mg/418 kJ)	0.07 (0.03; 0.09)	0.05 (0.03; 0.09)	0.664	0.06 (0.04; 0.09)	0.05 (0.03; 0.09)	0.132
Folate (µg/418 kJ)	11.74 (9.16; 21.46)	11.96 (9.13; 19.53)	0.768	11.87 (8.64; 21.23)	11.86 (9.21; 19.58)	0.720
Vitamin B12 (µg/418 kJ)	0.22 (0.13; 0.42)	0.12 (0.07;0.19)	< 0.001	0.12 (0.07; 0.22)	0.14 (0.08; 0.20)	0.641
Vitamin C (mg/418kj)	8.04 (5.46; 10.39)	10.71 (7.43; 13.67)	< 0.004	10.96 (8.51; 14.37)	9.51 (6.20; 12.50)	0.007

IQR: interquartile range; g: grams; mg: milligram, μg: microgram RE: retinol activity equivalent. ^aP-value < 0.05 indicates a significant difference between consumers and non-consumers.

Table 7: Association of different food group consumption with the mean adequacy ratio for those who consumed the food group on the day of recall

Association	rs	p-value
Grains, roots and tubers kJ (n = 138) and MAR	0.518	<0.001
Dairy kJ (n = 97) and MAR	0.483	<0.001
ASFs kJ (n = 24) and MAR	0.023	0.916
Fruits and vegetable kJ (n = 61) and MAR	0.052	0.693

r_s = Spearman’s correlation coefficient; p < 0.05 indicates a significant correlation.

Institute of Medicine. Dietary reference intakes for energy, carbohydrate, fiber, fat, fatty acids, cholesterol, protein and amino acids (macronutrients) 2005. Available from: https://www.nap.edu/search/?term=DRI.

 Google Scholar

Institute of Medicine. Dietary reference intakes: the essential guide to nutrient requirements 2006. Available from: https://www.nap.edu/search/?term=DRI.

 Google Scholar

Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes: intakes for calcium and vitamin D. Institute of Medicine: Washington, DC: The National Academy Press 2011. Available from: https://www.nap.edu/search/?term=DRI.

 Google Scholar