Busert, Laura K; Neuman, Melissa; Rehfuess, Eva A; Dulal, Sophiya; Harthan, Jayne; Chaube, Shiva Shankar; Bhandari, Bishnu; Costello, Harry; Costello, Anthony; Manandhar, Dharma S; +1 more... Saville, Naomi M; (2016) Dietary Diversity Is Positively Associated with Deviation from Expected Height in Rural Nepal. The Journal of nutrition, 146 (7). pp. 1387-1393. ISSN 0022-3166 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.115.220137
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Recent research has highlighted the need for additional studies on the nutrition input required to stabilize growth. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to examine the association between dietary diversity and conditional growth in children aged 0-89 mo. METHODS: We analyzed cohort data from 529 mothers and children living in a remote and food-insecure region in the mountains of Nepal. Children were aged 0-59 mo at baseline and were followed up after 9 and 29 mo. Conditional growth was calculated as the deviation from the expected height-for-age difference (HAD) trajectory based on previous measures of HAD and the pattern of growth in the population. Dietary diversity was assessed with the use of a count of the foods consumed from 7 food groups in the previous 7 d. The association between dietary diversity and conditional growth during the 2 follow-up periods (of 9 and 20 mo, respectively) was estimated with the use of ordinary least-squares regressions. RESULTS: Prevalence of stunting and absolute height deficits was very high and increased over the course of the study. At the last measurement (age range 29-89 mo), 76.5% were stunted and the mean ± SD HAD was -11.7 ± 4.6 cm. Dietary diversity was associated positively with conditional growth in the later (May 2012-December 2013) but not the earlier (July 2011-May 2012) growth period. Children's ages ranged from 0 to 59 mo in July 2011, 9 to 69 mo in May 2012, and 29 to 89 mo in December 2013. After adjustment, increasing the dietary diversity by one food group was associated with a 0.09 cm (95% CI: 0.00, 0.17 cm) increase in conditional growth in the second growth period. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing dietary diversity for children reduces the risk of stunting and improves growth after growth faltering. Future efforts should be directed at enabling families in food-insecure areas to feed their children a more diverse diet.
Item Type | Article |
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Faculty and Department | Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health > Dept of Infectious Disease Epidemiology (-2023) |
PubMed ID | 27306894 |
ISI | 379380100014 |
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