Association between parental feeding attitudes and practices and hemoglobin concentration in children aged 6 to 23 months in Callao, Peru, 2025

Adams Ubaldo K.J.; López Velasco A.M.; Mamani-Urrutia V. · Nutricion Clinica y Dietetica Hospitalaria (2026) · DOI: 10.12873/ncdh-189

Resumen

Introduction: Childhood anemia remains a relevant public health problem in Peru, especially during the first two years of life. At this stage, parental feeding attitudes and practices may influence the quality of complementary feeding, the inclusion of iron-rich foods, and adherence to preventive measures. Objective: To determine the association between parental feeding attitudes and practices scores and hemoglobin concentration in children aged 6 to 23 months attending the Ventanilla Health Network, Callao, during 2025. Methods: An observational, analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted among 129 children aged 6 to 23 months and their primary caregivers. Hemoglobin values were obtained from recent clinical records. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin below 10.5 g/dL, according to current Peruvian national regulations. Parental feeding attitudes and practices were assessed using an adapted version of the Child Feeding Questionnaire. Bivariate tests and simple and multiple linear regression models were performed. Results: The median age was 15 months, and 50.4% of the children were female. The median hemoglobin concentration was 10.9 g/dL, and the prevalence of anemia was 34.9%. Low feeding control was observed in 53.5% of caregivers. In the crude model, each additional point in the parental feeding score was associated with a 0.032 g/dL increase in hemoglobin. After adjustment, the association remained statistically significant: β=0.018; 95% CI: 0.015 to 0.022; p<0.001. Conclusions: Parental feeding attitudes and practices scores were positively associated with hemoglobin concentration. These findings suggest that parental feeding practices could be incorporated into strategies for the prevention and control of childhood anemia.

Instituciones: Universidad Científica del Sur