Lactating women of low‐ and middle‐income countries are prone to develop deficiencies in essential nutrients due to various demographic and socioeconomic components. This study aimed to estimate the adequacy of dietary intake and the determinants of diet quality of lactating women in rural Bangladesh. One‐day dietary recall (24‐Hour recall) data of 973 lactating women were obtained from the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) 2018–2019. Nutrient adequacy was determined using the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) cut‐point approach. The molar ratios of phytate to zinc, calcium, and iron were calculated. Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR) was calculated to measure diet quality, and multiple linear regression analysis was performed to assess the sociodemographic determinants of MAR. While the intakes of protein and carbohydrate were equal to/above the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range (AMDR) among most of the subjects, intakes of total energy and fat were below the reference intakes for 74.4% and 98.3%, respectively. Nutrient adequacy remained unmet for riboflavin, calcium, vitamin A, and folate among most (87.2%–97.6%) of the study population, and the mean (SD) MAR was 0.72 (0.12). Cereals were the major contributor of energy and B vitamins, while protein and iron mainly came from plant‐based sources. The molar ratio of phytate to iron was greater than the critical limit among most respondents. Maternal Body Mass Index (BMI) (beta = 0.003, p = .014) and education level (beta = 0.017, p = .038) were associated with their diet quality. The diet of most lactating women in rural Bangladesh indicates the inadequacy of several micronutrients. This can lead to a worsening of the double burden of malnutrition in women. Lactating women should be given special consideration when designing food and nutrition programs for reproductive women in rural Bangladesh.

Objectives: This study aimed to outline water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices for children under 5 years of age among the households of St. Martin’s Island as well as examine the role of water, sanitation, and hygiene on child nutritional outcomes. Methods: A total of 256 children under 5 years of age were anthropometrically measured, and multiple linear regression was performed to understand the relationship between combined water, sanitation, and hygiene score and child nutritional outcomes: height-for-age, weight-for-age, weight-for-height z-scores. Results: The majority of the sampled households had improved drinking water facilities. Over one-third of the participants (36.5%) did not have access to better sanitation, and 12.4% reported defecating in open places. Just over one-third of those surveyed reported washing their hands with soap or detergents after defecation, with more than 22% of people not having access to a handwashing station on their premises. Stunting, wasting, and underweight were found to be prevalent in 34.4%, 17.6%, and 18.9% of the sampled children, respectively. Height-for-age (0.08 SDs) and weight-for-age (0.014 SDs) were greater on average in children from households with improved water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions, but weight-for-height did not significantly differ from those from WASH-unimproved households. Conclusion: Certain aspects of WASH, particularly, sanitation facilities and hygiene practices were not up to the mark in St. Martin’s Island, and consistent with findings from other studies, our study findings underlined the potential benefits of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene practices in addressing child undernutrition.

The breeding biology of guppy fish, Poecilia reticulata (Cyprinodontiformes: Poiciliidae) was studied during March 2008 to May 2009 in ‘Zoological garden laboratory’, Curzon Hall campus, Dhaka University. Guppy bred all over the year except in the winter months December and January with a peak period in July. They were viviparous and multiple breeders, i.e., give birth to fry several times in the breeding season. The mean egg diameter was measured to be (1.02±0.08mm) and fecundity was estimated (40-89) per gram of body weight. The gestation period ranged 25-35 days with an average of 28.1±2.12 days. Developmental stages observed under a compound microscope were classified based on the changes in the developing eye, such as optic cup, early-eyed, middle-eyed, late-eyed, very late-eyed etc. It was noticed that tail portion comes out first at birth. The number of fry per brood ranged from 12 to 60. New born fries were observed with transparent or blackish in colour having slender body with jaws developed on mouth and were fully capable of swimming, eating, and avoiding danger. Guppy grew rapidly, attained sexual maturity at 8 -10 weeks and reached full size in 6 months. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jasbs.v39i2.17866 J. Asiat. Soc. Bangladesh, Sci. 39(2): 259-267, December 2013

Dietary patterns are evolving greatly during the last years and various diet and lifestyle related diseases are increasing day by day. The prevalence of double burden of malnutrition and various nutritional deficiency diseases among the reproductive aged women, the most vulnerable group has become a severe concern during the last decades. Therefore, the study focused on the nutritional status of reproductive aged women, their dietary food and nutrient intake and the adequacy of these consumed nutrients as compared to their requirements. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the randomly selected 355 households in Cumilla district in Bangladesh. The results showed that only about 32% of the participants were found having a normal BMI range. The percentage of underweight, overweight and obesity among the participants were 13.3% (95% CI: 10.25, 16.36), 35.8% (95% CI: 31.49, 40.12) and 19.6% (95% CI: 16.04, 23.17) respectively. Dietary protein, carbohydrate, total fat consumption was 11.87%, 65.22% and 18.9% of energy. Consumption of vitamin A, C, D, Folic acid, calcium, sodium, riboflavin and potassium was very poor and found below EAR/AI among the most respondents. Thiamin, zinc, iron, phosphorous intake was satisfactory among the most respondents. Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. December 2020, 6(4): 628-634

Background Appropriate Complementary feeding (CF) practices play a crucial role in determining child nutrition, growth, and development. This study seeks to examine CF practices and their predictors among children aged 6 to 23 months in rural Bangladesh according to the most recently updated WHO/UNICEF guidelines for CF. Methods A total of 665 children aged 6 to 23 months from the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) 2018–2019 dataset were analyzed. The WHO/UNICEF guidelines for CF were followed to evaluate each of the nine CF practice indicators. We also examined the effect of the child, maternal, household, and community-level factors on different CF components using multiple logistic regression analyses. Results Approximately two-thirds of the children initiated complementary feeding on time (63.5%) but had zero vegetable or fruit consumption (63.2%). More than half (52.4%) and the majority (86.5%) of children had minimum meal frequency and minimum milk feeding frequency, respectively. On the other hand, the proportion of minimum dietary diversity was quite low (18.3%), as reflected in the alarming prevalence (16.3%) of minimum acceptable diet. Egg and/or flesh food, sweet beverage, and unhealthy food consumption were 23.3%, 2.5%, and 12.2%, respectively. Child age, mothers’ education level, antenatal care visit, household food security, monthly household income, and place of residence were found to be associated with CF practices. Conclusion When compared to results obtained using the previous guideline, the new one has resulted in a lower prevalence of Introduction of solid, semi-solid, or soft foods (ISSF), Minimum dietary diversity (MDD), Minimum meal frequency (MMF), and Minimum acceptable diet (MAD). It is crucial to convey the new knowledge for better child feeding and nutrition as the country prepares to apply the new guideline.