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Table 6 Main features of studies assessing vegetarian and vegan weaning regimens

From: Complementary feeding in preterm infants: a position paper by Italian neonatal, paediatric and paediatric gastroenterology joint societies

Author, Year

Study Design

Sample size

Results

Bivi, 2021 [51]

Observational study

National cross-sectional survey on 176 Italian parents of children following a vegan diet

Nearly 72% of the children enrolled in the study had been on a vegan diet since weaning. Primary care paediatricians were often (70.8%) perceived as sceptical or against a vegan diet. Nearly 70% of the parents relied on medical dietitians, and 28.2% on nutritionists/dietitians for dietary counselling.

Baldassarre, 2020 [52]

Observational study

Survey on 360 Italian families to assess the prevalence of vegetarian and vegan weaning

Nearly 10% of infants were weaned according to a vegetarian or vegan diet. Almost half of parents perceived their primary care paediatrician as unable to provide sufficient information on unconventional CF and 77.4% of parents reported the paediatrician’s resistance towards alternative CF methods.

Farella, 2020 [65]

Case report

n.a.

Case report on a 22-month-old boy with failure to thrive probably due to an unbalanced vegetarian diet. Difficulty in establishing a therapeutic alliance between parents who follow alternative regimens and the paediatrician is highlighted.

  1. CF complementary feeding.