Infant to Children Food Transition, Growth Rate in Children, Food Allegies and Intolerances, Eggs, Peanuts, Milk, Citrus, Tomato

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What changes can you expect as an infant transitions to solid foods?

Early in the transition to solid foods infants will not have the hand dexterity and hand-to-mouth coordination to feed themself. However, within the ensuing months they develop these capabilities. Also during this time, teeth begin to appear, and an infant may begin to take small sips from a cup. Usually by age nine months, infants are able to participate in a meal as they begin to play with plates, cups, and perhaps help support a cup when drinking. By ten months, many infant will be feeding themselves finger foods and drinking from a cup; however, a thorough cleaning of the infant and the surrounding area usually is necessary following these feats.

What are food allergies?

Food allergies are immune responses to food components. Six to eight percent of children have food allergies and two percent of adults have them. The most common food allergies in adults are shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame seeds, fish, and eggs, and the most common food allergies present in children are milk, eggs, and peanuts. Signs and symptoms of food allergies include swelling of lips, tongue and airway (wheezing), itching, hives, eczema and if severe enough anaphylaxis. Since there is no cure for food allergies at this time, the allergic person has to avoid any and all forms of the food to which they are allergic.

How do food allergies develop?

There are a couple theories for how food allergies develop. One involves exposure to partially digestive proteins in early life. Although the digestive tract is rapidly developing during the first few months of infancy, there remains the potential for complete or semicomplete food proteins to cross the wall of the digestive tract and enter the body. When this occurs, an infant’s immune system recognizes this substance as foreign and destroys it. At the same time an infant develops “immune memory“ of that substance for future reference. This immune memory includes a routine production of antibodies that specifically recognize that substance. These antibodies allow the body to develop a very rapid and full-blown immune response when exposed to that substance again in the future. This response causes the release of chemicals in the body (e.g., histamine and serotonin), which may cause any number of the following actions: itchiness, swelling, vomiting, asthma, diarrhea, headache, skin reactions, or a runny nose.

Even in the mature digestive tract of children and adults there still remains a slim chance that fragments of intact substances are absorbed. When this occurs, an allergic reaction ensues. Many factors in the diet may elicit the characteristics of a food allergy or intolerance. Some of the more common foods containing these substances include those food items listed in Food Allegy Supects Table. Sometimes a food allergy is difficult to identify. Physicians who specialize in this area (allergists) may have the allergic patient eat a very plain diet and then introduce foods that are suspect one at a time until the culprit food is identified.

Are food intolerances different from allergies?

Food intolerance is often confused with allergies. However, the major difference is that the symptoms of food intolerance are mostly experienced in the digestive tract and include cramping, bloating, and diarrhea. The symptoms of a food allergy are said to be systemic, which means throughout the body and can include the digestive tract. The most common food intolerance is lactose intolerance. 

How are eating behaviors affected during childhood and adolescence?

The progression from infancy to childhood and then adolescence brings many new eating situations and experiences. During early childhood if not well before, children are weaned from breast milk or formula completely and have also made the transition from infant foods to regular foods. Eating develops into a very social and impressionable time in our lives. The number of meals children eat in a day will decrease and many food likes/dislikes and eating behaviors are formed in childhood. Children watch others at the table and also respond to moods and changes in the environment at the table. During childhood, television, radio, and interaction with peers at day care, camps, and grade school impact the development of children’s likes and dislikes and eating behaviors. Many of these characteristics remain throughout life, while others are phases.

How much growth can be expected during childhood and adolescence?

The rapid pace of growth of infancy slows during early childhood, and a typical weight gain for the second year is only five pounds. During this time, though, body composition is changing slightly as fat percentage decreases and lean tissue increases. Within the next few years the rate of gain in both height and weight further slows. Then, sometime around age seven, the rate of weight gain escalates and does not begin to taper off until the mid-teen years. The rate of height growth tapers until a growth spurt is recognized sometime around 10 to 12 for girls and 11 to 14 for boys (see Children Growth Figure).

During infancy, the status of height, weight, and head circumference, relative to other infants of the same age and gender, can be used to gauge growth and ability to thrive. This assessment can be continued throughout childhood and adolescence as well, although only height and weight are used during this time.These measurements are used for placement at a certain percentile in reference to other children.

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