BackgroundUndernutrition poses a serious health challenge in developing countries and Tanzania has the highest undernutrition burden of Eastern and Southern Africa. Poor infant and young child feeding practices have been identified as the main causes for undernutrition. As dietary diversity is a major requirement if children are to get all essential nutrients, it can thus be used as one of the core indicators when assessing feeding practices and nutrition of children. Therefore, adequate information on the association between dietary diversity and undernutrition to identify potential strategies for the prevention of undernutrition is critical. Here we examined to what extent dietary diversity is associated with undernutrition among children of 6 to 23 months in Tanzania.MethodsUsing existing data from the Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey of 2015–2016, we carried out secondary data analysis. Stunting, Wasting and Underweight of the surveyed children were calculated from Z-scores of Height-for-age (HAZ), Weight-for-height (WHZ) and Weight-for-age (WAZ) based on 2006 WHO standards. A composite dietary diversity score was created by summing the number of food groups eaten the previous day as reported for each child by the mother ranging from 0 to 7. Then, minimum dietary diversity (MDD) of 4 food groups out of seven was used to assess the diversity of the diet given to children. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression techniques were used to assess the crude and adjusted odds ratios of stunting, wasting and being underweight.ResultsA total of 2960 children were enrolled in this study. The prevalence of stunting was 31%, wasting 6% and underweight 14%. Among all children, 51% were female and 49% male. The majority (74%) of children did not reach the MDD. The most commonly consumed types of foods were grains, roots and tubers (91%), and Vitamin A containing fruits and vegetables (65%). The remaining food groups were reported to be consumed by a much lower proportion of children, including eggs (7%), meat and fish (36%), milk and dairy products (22%), as well as legumes and nuts (35%), and other vegetables (21%). Consumption of a diverse diet was significantly associated with a reduction of stunting, wasting and being underweight in children. The likelihood of being stunted, wasted and underweight was found to decrease as the number of food groups consumed increased. Children who did not receive the MDD had a significantly higher likelihood of being stunted (AOR = 1.37, 95% CI; 1.13–1.65) and underweight (AOR = 1.49, 95% CI; 1.15–1.92), but this was not the case for wasting. Consumption of animal-source foods has been found to be associated with reduced stunting among children.ConclusionConsumption of a diverse diet is associated with a reduction in undernutrition among children of 6 to 23 months in Tanzania. Measures to improve the type of complementary foods in order to meet the energy and nutritional demands of children should be considered in Tanzania.
Background Alcohol use during pregnancy is high despite the well-established evidence on its adverse pregnancy outcomes and poor child development. Early identification and behavioural modification are of great significance. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of alcohol use during pregnancy among women in Dodoma region. Methods 365 randomly selected pregnant women attending antenatal care services in Dodoma region were included. Structured questionnaires were used to assess sociodemographic characteristic and alcohol use. Both descriptive and inferential analyses were used to estimate the prevalence and independent relationships of factors associated with alcohol use in pregnancy, respectively. Results Results showed a prevalence of 15.1% out of the 365 women attending antenatal services in Dodoma region. Prepregnancy alcohol use and having relatives who use alcohol were associated with alcohol use (AOR= 5.19; 95% CI: 4.791-34.867 and AOR=1.57; 95% CI: 1.393-6.248), respectively. Moreover, other associated factors included low education status (AOR=10.636; 95% CI: 1.89-19.844), making local brews as a source of income (AOR=11.44; 95% CI: 1.008-19.86), and not having had complications in previous pregnancies (AOR=4.93; 95% CI: 1.031-23.59). Conclusion There is a significantly high prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy in Dodoma. Social networks and low social, economic status were associated with alcohol use in pregnancy. There is a need for public health interventions to address alcohol use particularly targeting women of reproductive age with low socioeconomic status.
Greater maternal dietary diversity was associated with improved child WHZ and WAZ outcomes. Sustainable interventions to increase maternal dietary diversity may improve WHZ and WAZ in young children in similar settings.
Background Undernutrition poses a serious health challenge in developing countries. Tanzania has the highest undernutrition burdens in East and Southern Africa. Poor infant and young child feeding practices including consumption of undiversified diet are the main cause for undernutrition. There is limited information regarding the association between dietary diversity and undernutrition in Tanzania. The objective of this paper was to examine to what extent the dietary diversity is associated with undernutrition of children of 6 to 23 months in Tanzania.Methods This is a secondary data analysis from data collected by the Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey of 2015-2016. Stunting, wasting and underweight were calculated from Z-scores based on 2006 WHO standards. A dietary diversity score was created by summing the number of food groups reported for each child by the mother ranging from 0 to 7. Then, a Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD) indicator was used to assess the diversity of the diet given to children. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression techniques were used to assess the odds ratios of becoming undernourished.Results A total of 2,960 children were enrolled in this study. The majority (73.9%) of children did not reach the recommended Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD). The most commonly consumed types of foods were grains, roots and tubers (91%), and Vitamin A containing fruits and vegetables (65%). Consumption of a diverse diet was significantly associated with a reduction of stunting, wasting and being underweight in children. The likelihood of being stunted, wasted and underweight was found to decrease as the number of food group consumed increased. Children who did not received an MDD diet had a significantly higher likelihood of being stunted (AOR=1.37, 95% CI; 1.13-1.65) and underweight (AOR=1.49, 95% CI; 1.15-1.92), but this was not the case for wasting. Consumption of animal source foods has been found to be associated with reduced stunting among children.Conclusion Consumption of a diverse diet was associated with a reduction in undernutrition among children of 6 to 23 months in Tanzania. Measures to improve the type of complementary foods in order to meet the energy and nutritional demands of children should be considered in Tanzania.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.