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Optimizing Nutrition in Pediatrics: From Preterm Infants to Adolescents

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Dr. Giovanna Verlato

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Pediatric Nutrition Service—Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, University Hospital, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128 Padova, Italy
Interests: nutrition in pediatrics; parenteral and enteral nutrition in pediatrics; preterm infants; growth; bone status; necrotizing enterocolitis; short bowel syndrome
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Dear Colleagues,

Children's nutrition is essential for their proper growth and development. Adequate nutrition promotes physical development, immune system strength, and cognitive function. It supplies vital nutrients for organ growth and overall health, including vitamins, minerals, and proteins and helps to prevent child malnutrition and in the same time the risk of chronic diseases later in life.

Therefore it is important to provide all the essential macro and micronutrients at the right time and in the right quantity to allow childrens’ growth potential to be realized.

Unfortunately, this potential is not always achieved, especially in low-resource settings and in children suffering from chronic diseases or in preterm infants.

In particular, optimizing the nutritional status with an earlier and adequate nutrition can result in better growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes, reducing the comorbidities of preterm birth.

Furthermore, adequate nutritional support for an ill child can help to maintain or improve their nutritional status, reducing the risk of malnutrition and improving treatment tolerance.

Nutrition knowledge in the pediatric age has improved a lot in recent decades but there are still some topics that need to be further investigated.

Therefore the nutritional research directions of this Special Issue will include:

Optimizing nutrition and growth in the preterm infants.
Optimizing nutrition in the first 2 years of life (improving feeding with human milk and starting adequate nutritional habits).
Strategies to prevent and early detect macro and micronutrient deficiencies in children
Strategies to improve nutrition in the sick children.

Dr. Giovanna Verlato
Guest Editor

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12 pages, 2343 KB

Open AccessArticle

Timing of Allergenic Food Introduction in Infants, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

by Imad Khojah, Reham Alsaud, Zayna Fatani, Abdulaziz Alotaibi, Hadeel Alharbi, Elaf Bahareth, Hala Fatani, Loie Goronfolah, Husni Rayes, Mohammad Binhussein, Ameera Bukhari, Mohammed A. Almatrafi, Eilaf Fallatah and Amer Khojah

Nutrients 2026, 18(6), 930; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18060930 - 16 Mar 2026

Viewed by 572

Abstract

Background: Food allergy (FA) is an increasing public health concern with significant implications for child health and quality of life. Early introduction of allergenic foods has been shown to reduce the risk of food allergy development; however, maternal awareness and adherence to these recommendations remain inconsistent. This study aimed to assess maternal awareness and practices regarding the timing of allergenic food introduction among mothers residing in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2023 and March 2024 involving parents of children aged younger than 48 monthsin the Makkah region. Data were collected via a self-administered electronic questionnaire distributed through social media platforms. Results: A total of 391 parents participated. Parent-reported food allergy was identified in 11.3% of children, while 14.6% had eczema. Early introduction (<12 months) was more common for egg (43.3%) and wheat (71.1%) compared to peanut (28.9%), tree nuts (30.9%), sesame (30.9%), and seafood (28.9%). A considerable proportion of children had not been introduced to key allergenic foods even after 36 months, particularly peanuts (45.3%) and sesame (42.2%). Children with eczema were significantly more likely to have early introduction of egg (p = 0.035), tree nuts (p = 0.046), and seafood (p = 0.031). Similarly, children with a family history of food allergy had higher early introduction rates of tree nuts (55.3% vs. 44.0%, p = 0.043) and seafood (62.3% vs. 49.1%, p = 0.019). Only 25.8% of mothers were aware that early introduction might prevent food allergies, and just 22% reported receiving professional advice to introduce allergenic foods early. Conclusions: Maternal awareness regarding the timely introduction of allergenic foods in Makkah remains limited, with delayed introduction persisting beyond 36 months for several high-risk allergens. These findings underscore the need for targeted educational interventions and improved counseling by healthcare providers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimizing Nutrition in Pediatrics: From Preterm Infants to Adolescents)

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