A proper nutrition during the first two years of life is critical to reach the full potential of every human being; now, this period is recognized as a critical window for promoting optimal growth, development, and good health. Therefore, adequate feeding at this stage of life has an impact on health, nutritional status, growth and development of children; not only in the short term, but in the medium and long term. This paper provides recommendations on complementary feeding (CF) presented as questions or statements that are important for those who take care for children during this stage of life. For example: When to start complementary feedings: 4 or 6 months of age?; Exposure to potentially allergenic foods; Introduction of sweetened beverages; Use of artificial sweeteners and light products; Food introduction sequence; Food consistency changes according to neurological maturation; Number of days to test acceptance and tolerance to new foods; Amounts for each meal; Inadequate complementary feeding practices; Myths and realities of complementary feeding; Developmental milestones; Practice of "Baby Led Weaning" and practice of vegetarianism.

Objective: We aimed to study the correlation between neck circumference (NC) and anthropometric adiposity indicators, and to determine cut-off points of NC for both sexes to identify elevated central adiposity in schoolchildren in western Mexico.Design: Cross-sectional study.Setting: Rural settings in western México.Participants: Children from a convenience sample of six schools in Acatlán, Jalisco, Mexico (n1802).Results: NC showed a strong positive correlation with all anthropometric adiposity indicators in both sexes, which were notably higher in boys regardless of age. Noteworthy, waist circumference displayed the highest significant correlation when analysed by both age and sex. As age increased, NC cut-off points to identify elevated central adiposity ranged from 25·7 to 30·1 cm for girls and from 27·5 to 31·7 cm for boys.Conclusions: NC could be used as a simple, inexpensive and non-invasive indicator for central obesity assessment in Mexican schoolchildren.

Neck circumference was studied for the first time in a pediatric population in 2010. Since then, various countries have proposed cutoff values to identify overweight, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. However, no reference values have been established for the Mexican child population. The aim of this study is to provide percentile reference values for the neck circumference of Mexican schoolchildren. Only normal-weight schoolchildren aged 6–11 years were included. Percentiles and growth charts were constructed based on the “Generalized Additive Model for Location, Scale and Shape” (GAMLSS). A total of 1059 schoolchildren (52.9% female) was evaluated. Weight, height, and BMI values were higher for males; however, this difference was not statistically significant. The 50th percentile for females was 24.6 cm at six years old and 28.25 cm at 11 years old, and for males, it was 25.75 cm and 28.76 cm, respectively. Both males and females displayed a pronounced increase in neck circumference between 10 and 11 years of age. The greatest variability was found in the 11-year-old group, with an increase of 5.5 cm for males and 5.4 cm for females. This study presents the first reference values for neck circumference for a Mexican child population.

Background/Objectives: Neck circumference (NC) has been proposed as a simple measurement to identify patients with overweight and obesity. It has been found that adipose tissue at the cervical level is associated with the presence of metabolic alterations. The aim of this study was to estimate the association between NC and indicators of Metabolic Syndrome (MS) to subsequently estimate its capacity to identify the risk of MS compared to waist circumference (WC) and Body Mass Index (BMI). Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample of 286 children 6–9 years old who attended six public primary schools in Jalisco, Mexico. Pearson’s correlation coefficients along with sensitivity and specificity tests were performed to analyze the relationship between NC and MS indicators. Odds ratio (OR) and concordance analyses were performed considering the Kappa index. Results: NC showed statistically significant correlations with all MS indicators except for LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol. The cut-off points of NC to identify MS according to sex was >27.4 cm for girls and >29.8 cm for boys. The association of NC with values above the cutoff point and the presence of MS was OR: 21.6 (CI: 7.11–65.74). Conclusions: NC represents a simple and cost-effective alternative to identify children at risk of MS when compared to BMI and WC.

Objective: secondary malnutrition and systemic inflammation may impair growth and body composition in children and adolescents with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This association has been scantily studied, particularly in pre-dialytic stages. Our aim was to correlate growth and nutritional status indicators with the serum concentration of interleukine 6 (IL-6) and ultrasensitive C-reactive protein (CRP) in children with CKD. Methods: this was a prospective cross-sectional study in 29 children and adolescents aged 3-16 years with CKD, stages 3 or 4, in two third-level general hospitals. The outcome variables were height for age, body mass index, arm anthropometric indicators, plus lean mass/fat percentage by bioelectrical impedance. The independent variables were IL-6 and CRP. This study was reviewed and approved by the Health Research and Ethics Committees of both hospitals. Results: height for age, body mass index, subscapular skinfold, arm fat area, and lean mass had a significant negative correlation with IL-6. The height-for-age z-score had a negative correlation with CRP. IL-6 explained 15% to 35% of the variance in height for age and nutritional status indicators. CRP predicted 22% of height for age. One fifth of the patients had acute malnutrition, and one third were stunted. Muscle was the most affected compartment. Conclusion: IL-6 and CRP in children and adolescents with CKD in the pre-dialytic stage predicted one fifth and one third of the variance in acute and chronic malnutrition indicators. The frequency of acute malnutrition and impaired growth was considered clinically significant. Muscular mass deficit was a central component of malnutrition.