Correlates of dietary diversity among children aged 6-23 months of head porters in Ghana

Maternal employment status and child age are positive determinants of minimum dietary diversity among children aged 6-23 months in Sagnarigu municipality, Ghana: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Intake of a diversified diet is key to the prevention of malnutrition among children as it results in improved intake of energy and micronutrients, which are deemed critical for better nutritional status of children. This study assessed minimum dietary diversity (MDD) and its determinants among children aged 6-23 months in the Sagnarigu Municipality of Ghana.

METHODS

This was an analytical cross-sectional study, carried out in the Sagnarigu Municipality, Ghana and involved 369 mother-child pairs selected through a systematic random sampling. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain respondents' socio-demographic characteristics, feeding practices, nutritional knowledge and anthropometry. MDD was assessed using a repeated 24-hour dietary recall method. Chi-square/Fisher exact test and binary logistic regression analysis were used to determine the factors associated with MDD.

RESULTS

The study found that 24.9% of the children were between the ages of 6-8 months and 75.1% were between the ages of 9-23 months. About 64.2% of the children met the MDD. Children of mothers who were self-employed were approximately 2 times more likely to meet the MDD as compared to children of mothers who were unemployed [Adjusted Odd Ratio (AOR): 1.93, 95% CI (1.13-3.31), P = 0.017]. Also, children aged 9-23 months were approximately 14 times more likely to meet MDD as compared to younger children aged 6-8 months [AOR: 13.98, 95% CI (7.54-25.91), P < 0.001].

CONCLUSION

Our study suggests that maternal empowerment may have positive effects on improving the MDD of infants and young children.

Concordance in dietary intake among caregivers and infants during the period of complementary feeding: A scoping review

Dietary intake during infancy shapes later food preferences and is important for short- and long-term health and wellbeing. Although caregivers are thought to influence the developing food preferences of infants, children less than two years have been notably absent in existing meta-analyses on the topic. This scoping review seeks to fill this gap by using a systematic process to identify and summarize the published literature on the resemblance of caregiver and infant diet during the period of complementary feeding (6-23 months). Articles were included if they assessed intake of foods or beverages other than human milk or commercial milk formula and reported a test of association between the intake of caregivers and infants. Four electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Global Health) were systematically searched for articles published since 2000. Thirty-three articles, representing 32 studies, were identified. The majority of studies examined infant intake of food groups/items (n = 20), seven studies examined infant dietary patterns, and six studies examined dietary diversity. Studies predominantly reported associations between diets of mothers and infants (n = 31); three studies reported associations for fathers. Most studies assessed infant diet at one timepoint (n = 26), with 12 studies combining the intakes of younger (0-11 months) and older infants (12-23 months). Food groups examined, in order of frequency, included 'non-core' foods and beverages (n = 14), vegetables (n = 13), fruits (n = 12), protein foods (n = 6), grains (n = 5), and dairy foods (n = 4). Definitions of variables for food groups and dietary patterns were highly heterogeneous, but consistent for dietary diversity. Nearly all studies (n = 31) reported significant associations between dietary intakes of caregivers and infants. Findings suggest caregiver diet may be a promising focus for interventions aiming to shape the food preferences and dietary intakes of infants.