Introduction:

Adequate nutrition is a critical factor for development in the first years of life.

Objective:

To determine the adherence of dietary practices and habits to the Paraguayan Dietary Guidelines (GAP) in children under two years of age attending a pediatric hospital in 2022.

Materials and Methods:

Our study design was observational, descriptive and cross-sectional. We used convenience sampling of outpatients under two years of age at the Acosta Ñu Children's General Pediatric Hospital. Variables: age, sex, birth weight, gestational age, weight, height, duration of breastfeeding (BF), and complementary feeding (CF). Anthropometry according to WHO 2006. Assessment was performed using the Likert scale. Our GAP definitions were: GAP 1: Exclusive BF until 6 months, GAP 2: Introduction of CF from 6 months. GAP 3: From one year of age, their food was part of the family meal. GAP 4: They consumed fruits and vegetables from 6 months of age. GAP 5: Person responsible for feeding the child. GAP 6: Consumed unhealthy foods. GAP 7: Performed hand hygiene before each meal. GAP 8: Feeding during episodes of diarrhea. Our protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee.

Results:

245 patients were included. Age: 7 months (median). 88.6% were well-nourished and 9.8% were at risk of malnutrition. 7.4% were short for their age. 98.8% received breast milk. 25.7% were exclusively breastfed until 6 months. Duration of breastfeeding: 6 months (median). 74.4% started complementary feeding at 6 months. 37.5% received whole milk before one year of age. 76.7% of caregivers were unaware of the GAP guidelines. 59% incorporated unhealthy foods. Adherence to guidelines 3 and 8 was fair, and good/very good for the other guidelines.

Conclusions:

The adequacy of dietary habits in young children was poor for GAP1, fair for GAP3 and GAP8, good for GAP4 and GAP6, and very good for GAP2, GAP5, and GAP7.

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