Lipid-based nutrient supplements: how can they combat child malnutrition?

Kathryn Dewey and Mary Arimond discuss new research in PLOS Medicine that assesses the effect of blanket provision of ready-to-use supplementary food to children at high risk of malnutrition in Chad, and highlight some of the challenges of investigating the efficacy of supplementary foods for malnourished children

Progress in developing an infant and child feeding index

"Feeding practices are an important determinant of the nutritional status of infants and children. It is therefore useful to measure and describe infant and child feeding practices in a number of contexts. Such measurements could enable (1) international comparisons of the adequacy of infant and child feeding, (2) research linking infant and child feeding to determinants or outcomes, (3) advocacy regarding the importance of adequate infant and child feeding, and (4) monitoring and evaluation of interventions designed to change practices. This paper reports on progress in developing a summary measure of infant and child feeding practices—the infant and child feeding index (ICFI). The report also addresses two challenges in measuring child feeding practices, namely that infant and child feeding is multi-dimensional, and appropriate practices vary by age of the child. The authors refine the ICFI and confirm earlier findings that the ICFI is associated with child nutritional status. They also determine which components of the feeding index appear to be most important in driving its association with child nutritional status. Finally, they assess the potential usefulness of the index for the four purposes listed above." -from Authors' Abstract

Assessing care

The objective of this report is to summarize progress towards measurement of selected childcare and feeding practices, and to discuss the feasibility and usefulness of these measurements in research and program contexts. This is the third in a series of reports documenting insights regarding care and measurement of care gained from the Accra Urban Food and Nutrition Study (AUFNS). This last report complements the previous two by providing an extensive review of the published literature on experience with the measurement of selected dimensions of care.FCND ,Child Feeding. ,Child care. ,

Measuring childcare practices

Chapter 6 / Implications for the Measurement of Child Feeding, Hygiene, and Caregiver–Child Interactions in Program and SurveyIndicators ,Caregiver-child interactions ,Observation methodology ,Child care services Developing countries Evaluation ,Children Nutrition ,Children Health and hygiene ,

Assessing care

The objective of this report is to summarize progress towards measurement of selected childcare and feeding practices, and to discuss the feasibility and usefulness of these measurements in research and program contexts. This is the third in a series of reports documenting insights regarding care and measurement of care gained from the Accra Urban Food and Nutrition Study (AUFNS). This last report complements the previous two by providing an extensive review of the published literature on experience with the measurement of selected dimensions of care.FCND ,Child Feeding. ,Child care. ,

Progress in developing an infant and child feeding index

"Feeding practices are an important determinant of the nutritional status of infants and children. It is therefore useful to measure and describe infant and child feeding practices in a number of contexts. Such measurements could enable (1) international comparisons of the adequacy of infant and child feeding, (2) research linking infant and child feeding to determinants or outcomes, (3) advocacy regarding the importance of adequate infant and child feeding, and (4) monitoring and evaluation of interventions designed to change practices. This paper reports on progress in developing a summary measure of infant and child feeding practices—the infant and child feeding index (ICFI). The report also addresses two challenges in measuring child feeding practices, namely that infant and child feeding is multi-dimensional, and appropriate practices vary by age of the child. The authors refine the ICFI and confirm earlier findings that the ICFI is associated with child nutritional status. They also determine which components of the feeding index appear to be most important in driving its association with child nutritional status. Finally, they assess the potential usefulness of the index for the four purposes listed above." -from Authors' Abstract

A multiple-method approach to studying childcare in an urban environment

This document summarizes findings from the Accra Urban Food and Nutrition Study (AUFNS) about the importance of care as an input to child nutrition and the relative contribution of various maternal and household resources to the provision of care.Child care. ,Nutrition Ghana. ,

A multiple-method approach to studying childcare in an urban environment

This document summarizes findings from the Accra Urban Food and Nutrition Study (AUFNS) about the importance of care as an input to child nutrition and the relative contribution of various maternal and household resources to the provision of care.FCND ,Child care. ,Nutrition Ghana. ,

Stagnating trends in complementary feeding practices in Bangladesh: An analysis of national surveys from 2004-2014.

Bangladesh has experienced steady socio-economic development. However, improvements in child growth have not kept pace. It is important to document complementary feeding (CF) practices-a key determinant of children's growth-and their trends over time. The study aims to examine trends in CF practices in children aged 6-23 months using data from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 2004, 2007, 2011, and 2014. Multilevel logistic regression models were applied to identify independent predictors of four CF practice indicators among children 6-23 months, namely, timely introduction of complementary foods, minimum meal frequency, minimum dietary diversity, and minimum acceptable diet. Introduction of complementary foods was achieved among 64-71% of children between 2004 and 2014. The proportion meeting minimum meal frequency increased from 2004 to 2007 (71-81%) and declined and held steady at 65% from 2011 to 2014. The proportion meeting minimum dietary diversity in 2011 and 2014 was low (25% and 28%), and so was minimum acceptable diet (19% and 20%). From 2007 to 2014, child dietary diversity decreased and the most decline was in the consumption of legumes and nuts (29% to 8%), vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables (54% to 41%), and other fruits and vegetables (47% to 20%). Young child age (6-11 months), poor parental education, household poverty, and residence in the Chittagong and Sylhet independently predicted poorer feeding practices. Dietary diversity and overall diet in Bangladeshi children are strikingly poor. Stagnation or worsening of feeding practices in the past decade are concerning and call for decisive policy and programme action to address inappropriate child feeding practices

Predictors of complementary feeding practices in Afghanistan: Analysis of the 2015 Demographic and Health Survey.

Despite improvements over the past 20 years, high burdens of child mortality and undernutrition still coexist in Afghanistan. Global evidence indicates that complementary feeding (CF) practices predict child survival and nutritional status. Our study aims to describe CF practices in Afghanistan and to discern underlying predictors of CF by analysing data from Afghanistan's 2015 Demographic and Healthy Survey. Multilevel models were constructed comprising potential predictors at individual, household, and community levels and four CF indicators: timely introduction of solid, semi-solid, or soft foods (INTRO), minimum meal frequency (MMF), minimum dietary diversity (MDD), and minimum acceptable diet (MAD) among breastfed children. INTRO prevalence among children aged 6-8 months was 56%, whereas the prevalence of MMF, MDD, and MAD among children aged 6-23 months was 55%, 23%, and 18%, respectively. Of the seven food groups considered, four were consumed by 20% or fewer children: eggs (20%), legumes and nuts (18%), fruits and vegetables (15%), and flesh foods (14%). Increasing child age and more antenatal care visits were significantly and positively associated with greater odds of meeting all CF indicators. Lower household wealth and lower community-level access to health care services were associated with lower odds of MDD and MAD. Disparities in achieving recommended CF practices were observed by region. CF practices in Afghanistan are poor and significant socioeconomic inequities in CF are observed across the country. Our study calls for urgent policy and programme attention to improve complementary feeding practices as an intrinsic part of the national development agenda