Diabetes and Pediatric Endocrinology

Pediatric Nutrition and Baby Foods

Over the past several decades, the incidence of atopic diseases such as asthma, atopic dermatitis, and food allergies has increased dramatically. Among children up to 4 years of age, the incidence of asthma has increased 160%, and the incidence of atopic dermatitis has increased twofold to threefold. The incidence of peanut allergy has also doubled in the past decade. Thus, atopic diseases increasingly are a problem for clinicians who provide health care to children. It has been recognized that early childhood events, including diet, are likely to be important in the development of both childhood and adult diseases. This clinical report will review the nutritional options during pregnancy, lactation, and the first year of life that may or may not affect the development of atopic disease. Although atopic diseases have a clear genetic basis, environmental factors, including early infant nutrition, may have an important influence on their development and, thus, present an opportunity to prevent or delay the onset of the disease. This clinical report replaces an earlier policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that addressed the use of hypoallergenic infant formulas and included provisional recommendations for dietary management for the prevention of atopic disease. This report is not directed at the treatment of atopic disease once an infant or child has developed specific atopic symptoms.