The first 1000 days of life are crucial for a healthy development of a human being. This space is dedicated to presenting studies/projects regarding this age group.
EPACI Portugal 2012: Study of Nutrition and Growth Patterns in Infancy
EPACI is a nationwide representative study aiming to evaluate nutrition and growth patterns in infancy, which took place between May 2012 and July 2013 in Family Health Units and Health Centers, and was applied by trained professionals.
It is a mixed study, basing its results:
- On the retrospective data collection until 12 months of age and/or until evaluation date (information collected by questioning caretakers about nutritional habits and collecting information regarding growth pattern from the Infancy and Youth Health Booklet);
- On the cross-sectional evaluation of nutritional status (12-36 months);
- On the quantification of food intake (3-day record) on the day of evaluation (12-36 months).
The main goals of this study were to evaluate the household socioeconomic and cultural profiles, to ascertain nutritional status at birth and 0 to 36 months’ growth pattern, and to evaluate food intake in the first year of life and behavior and supply in the second and third years.
Still in the scope of this study, some recommendations and proposals for Public Health interventions were developed for the age group in question.