Meat as complementary food for older breastfed infants and toddlers: a randomized, controlled trial in rural China.

BACKGROUND: Because of its contribution to dietary diversity and to favorable intakes of micronutrients, including iron and zinc, meat is hypothesized to be a valuable complementary food for the infant and young child. However, the evidence base remains limited. OBJECTIVE: To compare the difference in anthropometric measurements of rural Chinese infants and toddlers 6 to 18 months of age who received a daily supplement of meat or cereal for 12 months. METHODS: This cluster-randomized, controlled study provided a daily supplement of either meat (n = 514, 20 clusters) or cereal (n = 957, 40 clusters) starting as a first complementary food at 6 months of age. Anthropometric measurements were assessed longitudinally. RESULTS: After 12 months of intervention, the meat group (δ13.01 ± 1.9 cm) had greater (p = .01) linear growth than the cereal group (δ12.75 ± 1.8 cm) and a smaller decrease in length-for-age z-score (LAZ) over time (-0.43 ± 0.72 in the meat group vs. -0.54 ± 0.67 in the cereal group), after adjustment for baseline length, LAZ, maternal education, work status, and maternal height and weight. CONCLUSIONS: Linear growth was modestly greater in the meat group than in the cereal group. LAZ was substantially negative at 6 months, and the intervention did not prevent ongoing decline over the course of the study.