Volume 1 – 5-Month-Old Infants

Number 5 – Diet

Recent Québec policy on health and well-being (Politique de la santé et du bien-être ) has emphasized the importance of a good diet for the health of individuals. The analyses of cross-sectional data and eventually the longitudinal data of ELDEQ 1998-2002 will help expand our knowledge of children's diet related to various aspects of their development. Year 1 of the survey provided data to describe the dietary profiles of Québec infants approximately 5 months of age. These profiles indicate the feeding method, introduction of complementary foods, and the use of certain vitamin and mineral supplements (Vitamin D, iron) in the diet of the infants. These variables were associated with certain characteristics of the baby, mother and household. Breast feeding is the recommended feeding method at the beginning of life, and ELDEQ constitutes the first large-scale survey that has provided data on its prevalence among Québec infants.