Complementary Feeding Interventions for Infants and Young Children under Age 2: Scoping of Promising Interventions to Implement at the Community or State-Level

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Complementary feeding refers to the introduction of foods other than human milk or formula to an infants diet. In response to a request from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Academies Health and Medicine Division convened the Committee on Complementary Feeding Interventions for Infants and Young Children under Age 2 to conduct a consensus study scoping review of peer-reviewed literature and other publicly available information on interventions addressing complementary feeding of infants and young children. The interventions studied took place in the U.S. and other high-income country health care systems; early care and education settings; university cooperative extension programs; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); home visiting programs; and other settings. This consensus study report summarizes evidence and provides information on interventions that could be scaled up or implemented at a community or state level.

Additional materials

Helping Children Thrive Through Complementary Feeding

Publication information

486 pages · 6 x 9 · paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-71017-0
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-71018-9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/27239

Suggested citation

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Complementary Feeding Interventions for Infants and Young Children Under Age 2: Scoping of Promising Interventions to Implement at the Community or State Level. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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David A. Savitz

David A. Savitz, Ph.D., (NAM), is a professor of epidemiology in the Brown University School of Public Health, with joint appointments as a professor of obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics in the Alpert Medical School. From 2013-2017, Dr. Savitz served as the vice president for research at Brown University. He came to Brown in 2010 from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he had served as the Charles W. Bluhdorn Professor of Community and Preventive Medicine and the director of the Disease Prevention and Public Health Institute since 2006. Before that appointment, he taught and conducted research at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health and at the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. His epidemiologic research has addressed a wide range of public health issues including exposures related to military deployments, veterans’ health, environmental effects of energy development, risks from environmental exposures during pregnancy, and drinking water safety. He has authored more than 400 papers in professional journals and the editor or author of four books on environmental epidemiology. He has served as president of the Society for Epidemiologic Research, the Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research, and the North American Regional Councilor for the International Epidemiological Association. Dr. Savitz is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, inducted in 2007, and has previously served on 14 consensus committees, 8 of which he chaired or vice-chaired, in addition to serving on several other NASEM convening activities. He chaired the 2017 and 2022 committees on the Assessment of the Department of Veterans Affairs Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry. Dr. Savitz received his undergraduate training in psychology at Brandeis University, holds a master’s degree in preventive medicine from The Ohio State University, and received his Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

Laura E. Caulfield

Laura E. Caulfield, Ph.D., is Professor, Program in Human Nutrition, at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Caulfield conducts epidemiologic research in several areas, including: 1) maternal nutrition and pregnancy outcomes, infant feeding, child growth and development; 2) design and evaluation of nutritional interventions; 3) methodological issues in the use and interpretation of nutrition data. She has conducted research in diverse populations with the goal of providing scientific evidence to inform policy. Most recently, she led a systemic review of WIC participation and maternal and child health outcomes for the US government. Dr. Caulfield has been a member of two prior scientific advisory committees for the NRC. She has served on the Editorial Boards of both the Journal of Nutrition and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, has held various leadership roles within the American Society of Nutrition, including leadership of the Global Nutrition Council. She received her BS in Human Nutrition from Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO and her PhD in Nutrition from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Prior to joining Hopkins in 1990, she was at University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

Valerie J. Flaherman

Valerie J. Flaherman, MD, MPH, is Professor of Pediatrics, Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Core Faculty at the Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Her research focuses on infant nutrition, and she has been Principal Investigator (PI) of five randomized controlled trials of infant feeding interventions. Additionally, over the past 2 years she has assessed the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on children, first as co-PI of the Pregnancy and Coronavirus Registry (PRIORITY) study and currently as co-PI of the RECOVER UCSF Pregnancy Cohort. Dr. Flaherman is a practicing pediatrician and lactation consultant and a UCSF Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Champion. She is Managing Director of the Better Outcomes through Research for Newborns (BORN) network and a Program Leader of the Academic Pediatric Association. She received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and her master’s degree in public health from the University of California Berkeley. She completed pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital Oakland and preventive medicine residency at UCSF and is currently board certified in pediatrics, in preventive medicine and as an internationally board certified lactation consultant.

Frank R. Greer

Frank R. Greer, MD, is a Professor of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, Emeritus. He also held an affiliate appointment in the Department of Nutritional Sciences. He was an attending neonatologist at the University of Wisconsin from 1980-2014. Dr. Greer’s research career was primarily in infant nutrition (Fat soluble vitamins and minerals). He served on the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition from 1999 to 2009 and was chairperson from 2005-2009. He has coedited the AAP’s Pediatric Nutrition’s 7th, 8th, and currently the 9th editions. Dr. Greer is a member and Honorary Fellow of the American Society for Nutrition. He has received the Callon Leonard Award, Wisconsin Association for Perinatal Care and the Douglas Richardson Memorial Award New England Association of Neonatologists. He completed his residency in Pediatrics (1978) and Fellowship (1980) in Neonatal Perinatal Medicine at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Dr. Greer’s relevant committee assignments include chairing Working Group Two for the Complementary Feeding, Birth to Two Dietary Guidelines Task Force (NICHD, FDA, USDA) in 2012-2013, a member of Premature Infant Dietary Guidelines Task Force (Pre-B) (NICHD, FDA, USDA) in 2014-2015, and a member of the Technical Expert Committee for USDA-HHS Development Project for Dietary Guidelines for Infants and Toddler from Birth to 24 Months and Women Who Are Pregnant (2015-2018). Dr. Greer received his MD from University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Dr. Greer served on the National Academies’ Committee on Scoping Existing Guidelines for Feeding Recommendations for Infants and Young Children Under Age 2 (2014-2015).

Rafael Perez-Escamilla

Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, Ph.D., is a tenured Professor at the Yale School of Public Health where he is Director of the Office of Public Health Practice, the Global Health Concentration, and the Maternal Child Health Promotion Program. His three-decades long research program has led to global improvements in infant and young child feeding, early childhood health and development, and household food and nutrition security. He has published over 320 peer reviewed research articles and has given hundreds of lectures across world regions. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine (elected in 2019) and served on the National Academies’ Food and Nutrition Board from 2012-2018. He served in the 2010 and 2015 US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committees. He is co-Editor-In-Chief of the Maternal and Child Nutrition journal and deputy editor of Current Developments in Nutrition. He has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, and a master’s in food science and a PhD in nutrition from UC Davis where he also completed a postdoctoral program on nutrition and early childhood development. He served as a committee member of the National Academies’ consensus study on Feeding Infants and Children from Birth to 24 Months, which published its report in 2020.

Lorrene D. Ritchie

Lorrene Ritchie, Ph.D., is Director of the Nutrition Policy Institute and Cooperative Extension Specialist at the University of California. She has devoted 30 years to research topics related to pediatric nutrition and health promotion through program, policy, and environmental approaches. She co-authored the first book on the dietary determinants of obesity, and was lead author of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 2006 Position Paper on Pediatric Weight Management and co-authored the 2013 update. She served on the Institute of Medicine Committee on Evaluating Obesity Prevention Efforts: A Plan for Measuring Progress, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Expert Panel on Feeding Guidelines for Infant and Young Toddlers, and on the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) Childhood Obesity Evidence Base project to test a novel meta-analytic method for evidence aggregation on obesity prevention in young children. She is currently participating in the NIH-NICHD Biomarkers of Nutrition for Development-Knowledge Indicating Dietary Sufficiency effort to identify surveillance markers of child nutrition. In 2021, Dr. Ritchie received funding from the California Department of Public Health for a pilot study on the implementation of different types of milk on infants ages one and older to understand what type of milk is optimal for child health. She has given over 100 professional presentations, published over 200 articles, and testified in Washington, DC on policy-relevant research. In 2022 she was awarded the National WIC Association Leadership Award. Dr. Ritchie has a MS and PhD in nutrition from UC Berkeley, and is a Registered Dietitian.

Charlene Russell-Tucker

Charlene M. Russell-Tucker, MSM, was appointed by Governor Ned Lamont as Commissioner for the Connecticut State Department of Education in August 2021. Until her appointment, she served as Acting Commissioner from March through August 2021. Prior to serving as Acting Commissioner, she served as the Department’s Deputy Commissioner, a role in which she oversaw educational supports and wellness priorities. Previously, she served as Chief Operating Officer and Division Chief for the Department's Office of Student Supports and Organizational Effectiveness. She also served as Associate Commissioner of Education and Bureau Chief within the Department, previously overseeing a portfolio of programs and services that included student health, nutrition and safety, family engagement, magnet and charter schools, afterschool programs and services, school climate, adult education, and special education. She is a performance-driven and visionary education leader with over 20 years’ experience in successfully leveraging the inter-connectedness of the social, emotional, physical, and mental health of students and their families as foundations for positive school and life outcomes. She passionately supports family and community engagement in education and has successfully led school attendance and school discipline initiatives with intensive focus on equity and diversity. Ms. Russell-Tucker has participated on various state and national committees, such as the Connecticut General Assembly Committee on Children Strategic Action Group on Chronic Absence, and she has served as an expert panel member on committees of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. She has also served in the role of president of the Connecticut Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and is a member of the Nominating Committee of the national Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Ms. Russell-Tucker has extensive teaching experience, formerly serving as an adjunct faculty member at Albertus Magnus College School of New Dimensions. In 2015, Ms. Russell-Tucker was named to the inaugural class of 100 Women of Color in Connecticut. In 2018, she was welcomed to the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading's Council of Champions. In 2021, Ms. Russell-Tucker received MENTOR National’s Public Service – State & Local Excellence in Mentoring Award and was also named among the 100 Most Influential Blacks in Connecticut by the CT NAACP. In 2022, Ms. Russell Tucker was awarded the Albertus Magnus College prestigious honor, the St. Dominic Medal, in recognition of her distinguished achievements and her service to society. Ms. Russell-Tucker received her Master of Science in Management and Organizational Leadership from Albertus Magnus College.

Shannon E. Whaley

Shannon E. Whaley, Ph.D., is the Director of Research and Evaluation at Heluna Health’s PHFE WIC Program, the largest local agency WIC program in the nation. In her 24-year career with PHFE WIC, Dr. Whaley has become an expert in the planning, development and evaluation of interventions designed to optimize the healthy development of children and families served by WIC. Her work spans a broad range of topics including childhood nutrition and obesity, prevention of prenatal alcohol use, promotion of early literacy for low-income children and examination of the impact of the WIC food package on WIC participants. Her most recent focus is on factors associated with WIC program retention and on impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on WIC families. She has given over 70 professional presentations and published over 100 research articles. Dr. Whaley received the National WIC Association Leadership Award in 2014 and served as Vice Chair on the National Academies Committee to Review the WIC Food Packages (2014-2017). Dr. Whaley has a MA and PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Elizabeth Yakes Jimenez

Elizabeth Yakes Jimenez, Ph.D., is a Professor and the Assistant Dean for Research in the College of Population Health at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, with secondary appointments in the Departments of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine. Dr. Yakes Jimenez conducts research, program evaluation and quality improvement projects to develop and test interventions to improve maternal and child health, to better prevent and treat malnutrition and chronic disease, and to strengthen integration of community services and medical care. She is a pediatric registered dietitian nutritionist with an MS in public health nutrition from Case Western Reserve University and a PhD in epidemiology from University of California, Davis. She served as a committee member for the National Academies’ consensus study on Feeding Infants and Children from Birth to 24 Months (2020).

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Complementary Feeding Interventions for Infants and Young Children under Age 2: Scoping of Promising Interventions to Implement at the Community or State-Level

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