Reduction in food additive consumption in the first year of life: impact of a randomized trial focused on dietary counseling

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of maternal dietary counseling to avoid offering ultra-processed foods and sugar in the first year of life on the daily consumption of food additives. A multicenter field trial was conducted in maternity hospitals in Porto Alegre, Salvador and Manaus. The intervention consisted of one session of dietary counseling based on the booklet developed by UNICEF ("The 10 steps to healthy eating and habits: from birth to 2 years old") and telephone calls over the following five months. Data collection at 12 months was performed through home visits, in which a 24-hour recall was applied and the additives present on the labels of each food were subsequently identified. The dietary analysis at 12 months consisted of 172 children in the intervention group (IG) and 155 in the control group (CG). Children in the intervention group had lower daily consumption of food additives (IG: 17.4±14.3 vs. CG: 21.2±18.0; p=0.030). The proportion of children consuming more than 22 additives per day was lower in the intervention group (IG: 13% vs. CG: 24%; p=0.048). The intervention was effective in reducing the consumption of food additives in 12-month-old children.