{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T15:07:38Z","timestamp":1790262458179,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790208000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To assess complementary feeding practices among Chinese parents and to investigate the associations between dietary diversity in complementary feeding and growth outcomes in children aged 0\u201336\u202fmonths.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This national cross-sectional study included 26,266 children aged 0\u201336\u202fmonths from 33 provinces in China. Participants were recruited through a convenience sampling strategy. Self-reported questionnaires were designed and posted on the website of the China Maternal and Child Health Association, which collected the information of assessing complementary feeding practices and knowledge. Anthropometric indicators (length\/height, weight, and weight-for-length\/height) were evaluated using World Health Organization growth standards. Dietary diversity was defined based on the daily consumption of multiple complementary food groups. Correlation analyses and multivariable regression models were conducted to evaluate associations between dietary diversity, specific food groups, and growth outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A high proportion of children were classified above the 90th percentile for weight across regions (range: 39.39\u201351.83%). Dietary diversity was positively associated with linear growth in all age groups, with the strongest association observed among children aged 19\u201336\u202fmonths (\n                      <jats:italic>r<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.2769,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05). Conversely, dietary diversity was negatively associated with weight-for-length\/height in children older than 6\u202fmonths and with weight gain among those aged 13\u201318\u202fmonths (\n                      <jats:italic>r<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f\u22120.0602,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05). Iron and protein-rich foods, such as liver and animal blood, were underutilized, particularly in younger children. Additionally, 13.13% of parents reported limited experience in complementary feeding, and more than half prioritized DHA supplementation over whole-food diversity.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Chinese children aged 0\u201336\u202fmonths may be at risk of high body weight status. Greater dietary diversity in complementary feeding may support optimal linear growth while helping to mitigate excessive weight gain. Given the observed gap between parental knowledge and feeding practices, targeted nutrition education and guidance on responsive feeding are urgently needed from a public health perspective.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1775120","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T14:31:40Z","timestamp":1790260300000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Association between dietary diversity in complementary feeding and growth and nutritional status among children aged 0\u201336\u202fmonths in China: a cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Li","family":"Hong","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai Children's Medical Center","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yunman","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai Children's Medical Center","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qihui","family":"Shao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai Children's Medical Center","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yizhi","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai Children's Medical Center","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chengchen","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai Children's Medical Center","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Liya","family":"Pan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai Children's Medical Center","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhuoqi","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai Children's Medical Center","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuyun","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fujian Children\u2019s Hospital","place":["Fuzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"825","DOI":"10.1093\/nutrit\/nuaa143","article-title":"Complementary feeding of infants and young children 6 to 23 months of age","volume":"79","author":"Lutter","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nutr Rev"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2028","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(24)02439-5","article-title":"The first and next 1000 days: a continuum for child development in early 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