[Design and validation of a handbook and photographic atlas on complementary food for use as a food education tool].

Introduction: The use of visual tools to calculate the adequate portion of the infant's food with an adequate education would allow to provide correct, simple and clear information to those responsible for their feeding. The objective was to design a manual and photographic atlas on complementary feeding (CF) for children between 6-12 months of age, to be used as a tool in food and nutrition education. Methods:

Methods: The instrument was divided into two sections: a manual that includes advice on CF, and another corresponding to the food atlas, adapted to children aged 6 to 12 months. Content validity was performed by expert judgment, and the degree of agreement was measured using the Interclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC).

Results: The designed tool includes 47 foods, 323 photographs and 6 chapters, where key concepts were developed, feeding in the sick child, measurements and capacities of the utensils used, images accompanied with recommendations for food and nutritional education about consistency, frequency, quantity, progression in the incorporation of food, safety, recipes and menu ideas according to age. The atlas was divided into food groups, subdivided into raw and cooked foods, and in different presentations: puree, pieces and whole. The content validation showed a high percentage of general acceptance (85.86%) and reported a 95% ICC of 0.884 (0.712-0.973).

Conclusion: The designed tool is very useful for carrying out nutrition counseling and education interventions for children of the age of starting their CF.