Dietary patterns of children aged 6-24 months assisted by the Bolsa Família Program.

Objective: This study aimed to verify the association between socio-economic and demographic characteristics and dietary patterns (DP) of children assisted by the Conditional Cash Transfer Program, Bolsa Família Program (BFP).

Design: This is a cross-sectional study. DP were defined using a principal component analysis. The association of the predictive variables and DP was modelled using multilevel linear regression analysis.

Setting: This study was conducted in six municipalities from the State of Alagoas, Brazil.

Participants: The participants were children aged 6-24 months who were assisted by the BFP.

Results: A total of 1604 children were evaluated. Four DP were identified (DP1, DP2, DP3 and DP4). DP1 is composed of traditional Brazilian food. DP2 is formed mostly from ultra-processed foods (UPF). DP3 consists of milk (non-breast) with added sugar, while DP4 consists of fresh and minimally processed foods. Caregivers with higher age and education (β = -0·008; (95 % CI -0·017, -0·000); β = -0·037; (95 % CI -0·056, -0·018), respectively) were negatively associated with DP2. We observed a negative association between households with food insecurity (β = -0·204; (95 % CI -0·331, -0·078)) and DP4 and a positive association between caregivers with higher age and education (β = 0·011; (95 % CI (0·003; 0·019); β = 0·043; (95 % CI 0·025, 0·061), respectively) and DP4.

Conclusion: This study identified the association between socio-economic inequities and DP early in life, with an early introduction of UPF, in children assisted by BFP in the State of Alagoas.