Nutritional transition during infancy in East Java, Indonesia: 2. A longitudinal study of growth in relation to the intake of breast milk and additional foods

Weight and length of infants, born in two villages in Madura, East Java were measured longitudinally from birth to 12 months (n = 391). In a sub-sample (n = 76) the intake of breast milk and additional foods during 48 h were also measured. The shape of the weight curve of Madurese infants is comparable to that of healthy, exclusively breast-fed infants in the UK and US during the first 6 months of life, in spite of the custom to force-feed from as early as the first week. The use of a more 'appropriate' growth curve of exclusively breast-fed, healthy infants instead of the NCHS reference failed to define more accurately the age at which growth faltering starts. It is recommended to use weight increments as an indicator of the onset of growth faltering. Breast milk intake correlated significantly with attained weight. However, it explains only a small percentage of the variation in weight, viz. 12-24 per cent. There was no correlation between energy or protein intake from breast milk and additional foods and weight gain.