The objective of this study was to characterize the food practice of 96 infants attended by Children Christian Fund in Álvaro Weyne and President Kennedy Districts in Fortaleza, Brazil. The data were collected using a 24-hour diet recall method and a structured questionnaire about breast feeding and weaning practices. The results indicate that partial breast feeding is more frequent (68%) than artificial feeding (32%) and exclusive breast feeding (10%) and 7% of the infants were never breast-fed. But, at the age of 10 months, 53% of the infants are still being breast-fed. The porridge prepared with whole cow's milk is basically the entire weaning diet. From a nutritional point of view, the diets are unbalanced and iron is the most deficient nutrient. Intensive efforts for the promotion of adequate infant feeding practice are necessary.
weaning; infant food; breast feeding; prevalence; infant
