Nutritional support in the infant and child under 3 years of age

Abstract

Diet and nutrition early in life have particular aspects regarding other ages, some depend on infant, their skills and possible diseases, and other on parents, nutritional knowledge and interaction with their infant at feeding.
Lack of appetite, food refusal, excessive duration of meals, and poor weight are common queries involvement in these ages. Medical assessment in these cases must start from a clinical history, a dietary assessment and physical examination considering the need for additional tests. Poor food intake, physical illness, problems in caregiver-child interaction and growth problems or malnutrition must be identified.
The basis of the treatment of these problems are nutritional support, treatment of eating disorders and treatment of specific nutritional deficiencies.
Nutritional support begins with a clinical assessment and will consist of improvements of oral intake, evaluating the indication for enteral feeding via nasogastric or gastrostomy and using nutritional supplements or complete enteral diets. The treatment of eating disorders starts valuing the knowledge about food and nutrition in caregivers, encouraging and instructing them in conflict situations. However, sometimes multidisciplinary approach will be necessary.