ObjectiveAdolescence represents a critical stage of life, characterized by rapid physical growth and development; varying levels of physical, social and psychological maturity; and a transition from total socio-economic dependence to relative independence. Focusing on adolescents’ nutrition, especially girls, provides a unique opportunity to break the intergenerational cycles of malnutrition. But, there is little information about the dietary diversity of adolescent girls in Dabat district. Therefore, the survey aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of dietary diversity among adolescent girls.ResultsThe overall prevalence of adequate dietary diversity among adolescent girls was 14.5 (95% CI 12.9, 16.2). The prevalence of adequate dietary diversity among adolescent girls was very low and food insecurity is one of the predisposing factors for low dietary diversity. Therefore, working to enhance household’s food security status is recommended to boost dietary diversification of adolescent’s girls.

BackgroundImproving infant and young child feeding practices is critical to improved nutrition, health, and development of children. Ethiopia adopted the WHO recommendations of child feeding practices and developed the national guideline. In spite of this fact, only few children start and received appropriate complementary feeding based on the recommendation. Therefore, the study aimed to determine dietary diversity score and its associated factors among under five children at Dabat Health and Demographic Surveillance System site (HDSS), northwest Ethiopia.MethodsA cross-sectional community based study was carried out from February to June 2016. All children aged 6–59 months old who lived in HDSS site were included in the survey. Odds ratio (OR) with the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to show the strength of association. Finally, variables with a P-value of < 0.05 were considered statistically significant..ResultsIn this study, a total of 3433 children were included. About 34.87% (95%CI: 33.27, 36.49%) of the children received adequately diversified diet. The odds of receiving adequately diversified diet was higher among children whose mother had secondary and above education (AOR = 6.51; 95%CI: 4.95, 8.56), had antenatal care (AOR = 1.90; 95%CI: 1.60, 2.26) and postnatal care visits (AOR = 1.31; 95%CI: 1.00, 1, 72), and children who feed with their family (AOR = 1.39; 95%CI: 1.17, 1.65). However, a lower dietary diversity score was observed among younger children; 6–11 months old (AOR = 0.59; 95%CI: 0.41, 0.85), and children from food insecure household (AOR = 0.76; 95%CI: 0.63, 0.92).ConclusionsDiversified diet feeding practice is low in Dabat HDSS site. Age of the child, maternal education, antenatal and postnatal care visits, and household food insecurity were significantly associated with dietary diversity of children. Hence, ensuring household food security and enhancing the coverage of maternal health care utilization are recommended to increase dietary diversity of children.

Objective: the aim of the study was to assess appropriate complementary feeding practices and associated factors among mothers with children of age 6 - 23 months in Faggeta-Lekoma District, Northwest Ethiopia. Result – A total of 593 study subjects were included in the study. The magnitude of appropriate complementary feeding practice was 10.6%. Majority (67.1%) of the mothers timely initiated complementary feeding at 6 months. About 60% of mothers fulfill the minimum meal frequency feeding to their children, the day preceding the survey. Only 12.3 % mothers offered four or more food groups to their child Mother’s education: high school and above [AOR=3.12(95%CI 1.43, 6.81)], postnatal care visit [AOR=5.30 (95%CI 2.69, 10.42)], Age of a child: 18-23 months [AOR=3.98 (95%CI 1.55, 10.22)] were significantly associated with appropriate complementary feeding practice. Keywords: appropriate Complementary feeding practice, Children aged 6–23 months, Ethiopia

Objective : the aim of the study was to assess appropriate complementary feeding practices and associated factors among mothers with children of age 6 - 23 months in Faggeta-Lekoma District, Northwest Ethiopia. Result – A total of 593 study subjects were included in the study. The magnitude of appropriate complementary feeding practice was 10.6%. Majority (67.1%) of the mothers timely initiated complementary feeding at 6 months. About 60% of mothers fulfill the minimum meal frequency feeding to their children, the day preceding the survey. Only 12.3 % mothers offered four or more food groups to their child Mother’s education: high school and above [AOR=3.12(95%CI 1.43, 6.81)], postnatal care visit [AOR=5.30 (95%CI 2.69, 10.42)], Age of a child: 18-23 months [AOR=3.98 (95%CI 1.55, 10.22)] were significantly associated with appropriate complementary feeding practice. Keywords : appropriate Complementary feeding practice, Children aged 6–23 months, Ethiopia

Background: Optimal feeding practices are recommended to improve nutritional status and prevent the common childhood illnesses. Studies on the feeding practice of children including meal frequency and dietary diversity are scarce in children with illness. Therefore, we aimed to assess feeding practice and its associated factors among children aged 6-59 months in Dabat Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) site, northwest Ethiopia. Methods : A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Dabat HDSS site from February to June 2016 on 1,174 mother-child pairs. A multistage stratified sampling followed by a systematic random sampling technique was employed to select the study participants. A binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with children’s feeding practice. A crude odds ratio and adjusted odds ratio with its 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to see the strength of association and significance of the identified factors with feeding practices. Result: The overall prevalence of a minimum dietary diversity practice and a minimum meal frequency was 27 % (95%CI: 24.4, 29.7) and 83.7 %( 95%CI: 91.7, 86.0), respectively. Having antenatal care (ANC) service (AOR = 1.6; 95% CI: 1.18, 2.27) and institutional delivery (AOR = 2.6; 95% CI: 1.85, 3.55) increased odds of an adequate dietary diversity in children. On the contrary, the odds of practicing an adequate dietary diversity was lower among a household obtained food from home gardens (AOR = 0.4; 95% CI: 0.29, 0.52) and currently breast fed children (AOR = 0.6; 95% CI: 0.42, 0.78). The probability of having a minimum meal frequency was decreased among children in the first two years of age (AOR = 0.1; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.15), however increased in children who fed alone (AOR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.29, 2.69). Conclusion: The proportion of children who received the minimum dietary diversity was low while the proportion of children who obtained minimum meal frequency was good. Providing a health and nutrition counseling on Infant and Young Child Feeding during maternal ANC services and delivery period are recommended for achieving the recommended dietary practices.