Dietary diversity and stunting among infants and young children: A cross-sectional study in Aligarh

Abstract

Context:Child undernutrition is a public health problem in a developing country like India. Dietary diversity is an important immediate determinant of undernutrition.Aims:The aim of this study is to find the prevalence of stunting among infants and young children aged 6–23 months and its association with dietary diversity.Settings and Design:This study was community-based cross-sectional study. It was carried out in the registered families of the Urban Health Training Centre and Rural Health Training Centre, Department of Community Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, AMU, Aligarh.Methods:A total of 326 children aged 6–23 months were included in the study. Study tools were predesigned and pretested questionnaire, modified infant and young child feeding practices questionnaire, and infantometer. Systematic random sampling with probability proportionate to size technique was utilized to drawn necessary sample size.Statistical analysis:Wald's statistics, Z-scores, and bivariate and multivariate logistic regression (LR) (stepwise backward LR) were used.Results:The prevalence of stunting in study population was 45.7% (95% CI - 40.1%, 51.1%); moderate stunting was 33.7% (95% CI - 28.8%, 39%); and severe stunting was 12% (95% CI - 8.8%, 16%). The prevalence of stunting was significantly associated with dietary diversity (OR - 0.17, 95% CI - 0.10–0.29)Conclusions:The study concludes that dietary diversity is a significant predictor of stunting. Therefore, interventions aimed at improving dietary diversity should be taken to reduce the burden of stunting among infants and young children.

Stunting and severe stunting among infants in India: the role of delayed introduction of complementary foods and community and household factors

“…Additionally, a national level study conducted in India also indicated that age-appropriate infant and young child feeding practices were associated with child undernutrition [18]. However, while studies from India have reported a high prevalence of delayed introduction of complementary foods [19], as well as a high proportion of stunting among children younger than five years [20,21], there has been no nationally representative studies that investigated the association between delayed introduction of solid, semi-solid or soft foods and associated factors with stunting in India, nor has there been a documented prevalence of stunting by severity. Nationally representative studies in this context are needed as they provide complete information, as well as highlight the characteristics of childhood stunting to match the country's policy directives and interest [22].…”

The influence of feeding practice on the risk of stunting in infant and young children in developing countries:a literature review

“…Selain pemberian ASI eksklusif, faktor lain yang juga menyebabkan stunting pada anak adalah ketidaksesuaian keragaman makanan dengan standar. Pemberian makan dengan skor keragaman makanan yang rendah menjadi salah satu faktor risiko kejadian stunting pada anak usia 0˗23 bulan (3,7,8,13,17,24). Sebuah studi membuktikan bahwa anak usia 6˗23 bulan yang mengonsumsi makanan tanpa memperhatikan keragaman makanan memiliki peluang lebih tinggi untuk mengalami stunting dibandingkan anak yang mengonsumsi makanan dengan keragaman ≥5 jenis makanan.…”

The Influence of dietary diversity on the nutritional status of children between 6 and 23 months of age in Tanzania

“…This is a secondary data analysis from data of the Tanzania We used the Kids file (KR file) and Mother file (MR file) from the TDHS data obtained from an online data repository to get information about nutrition status and dietary diversity of children [20]. From 10,233 children of 0-59 month old assessed in the survey, we selected 2,960 younger children aged between 6-23 months living with their mothers.…”

“…Dietary diversity, as a marker of micronutrient adequacy, may increase nutrient density of the complementary foods [15], which promote optimal child growth and development. Receiving an inadequately diversified diet may lead to undernutrition [16], and predispose children to opportunistic infections and severe illnesses Although the association between dietary diversity and the nutritional status of children has already been studied in various countries [16][17][18][19][20][21], studies that use large-scale data are scarce, particularly in Tanzania. In addition, many previous studies in Tanzania have largely focused on other aspects of child nutrition, like micronutrient content[9], complementary feeding practices [9, [22][23][24][25] and their determinants [26,27].…”