Feeding and nutrition of infants and young children : Guidelines for the WHO European Region, with emphasis on the former Soviet countries

Kim Fleischer Michaelsen, Lawrence Weaver, Francesco Branca and Aileen Robertson
WHO Regional Publications, European Series, No. 87
World Health Organization 2000, updated reprint 2003

The guidelines are designed for the WHO European Region, with emphasis on the countries that resulted from the dissolution of the former Soviet Union. Nutrition and feeding practices vary throughout the Region and these recommendations should be applied flexibly and be adapted to local and national needs and circumstances. Despite the wide range of socioeconomic conditions found between and within the Member States of the Region, it is believed that many recommendations can be applied universally. They are especially applicable to the most vulnerable groups of infants and young children living in deprived conditions. These are mainly found in the eastern part of the Region, but are also common in ethnic minorities and children of low-income families in western Europe.

This publication is primarily intended for ministries of health, paediatricians, dietitians, nutrition scientists and public health and other health professionals interested in nutrition who are concerned with the health of young children. It will allow policy-makers and national experts to develop or update their current national nutrition and feeding recommendations. It can also be used as a text for postgraduate education in child health. It is therefore hoped that the information provided will be effectively disseminated to these health professionals and to others working in relevant areas of the civil service and the private sector. There is now evidence to support claims that optimum infant and young child feeding will reduce the risk of some of the most prevalent adult diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, in the European Region. These guidelines, if implemented, will therefore not only have a positive impact on the health, growth and development of young children, but also strengthen their chances of growing up to be healthy adults.

A teljes dokumentum letölthető a Az Egészségügyi Világszervezet Európai Regionális Irodájának oldaláról