부산대학교 도서관

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the status of baby foods and baby food preferences in Korea in the late 2010s. Methods: The subjects were 410 mothers with 6-18-month-old infants. A questionnaire was developed based on a literature review and consisted of items related to baby food, the food preference of babies, and the eating habits of the mothers and babies. An online survey was conducted for 5 days in July 2018. Results: The majority of the respondents began weaning when the baby was 5 months old (46.8%), and the completion or planned completion time of weaning was between 12 and 15 months (61.0%). More than half of the mothers (62.2%) prepared baby foods from scratch at home instead of feeding babies commercial baby foods. Among the 41 food items surveyed, rice porridge was the most used baby food (96.8%) followed by beef (93.4%) and apple (90.5%) while the least used baby foods were drinks (8.5%), which reflected the introduction of these foods during weaning. Babies preferred snacks (4.36) the most, followed by cheese (4.35), liquid yogurt (4.27) and strawberries (4.27). The least liked baby foods were drinks (2.51), shellfish (2.96), and nuts (3.06). The mothers’ diets were more irregular (45.6%) or unbalanced (46.6%) than their babies (both 5.4%). Conclusion: Problems in a mother's diet could affect her baby’s dietary habits. Therefore, practical nutrition education and counseling on a proper diet, as well as on how to provide baby food, should be conducted so that mothers can maintain a desirable attitude toward their own diet and baby foods.