Association of Maternal Dietary Diversity and Nutritional Status with Child’s Dietary Diversity and Nutritional Status (2-5 years) in India

Abstract

Dietary diversity is a measure of the number of individual foods or food groups consumed in a given period of time. Consumption of more diverse diets is one of the many approaches to improve the nutrition situation. Malnutrition is linked with quality and quantity of dietary intake. A higher dietary diversity has been associated with better nutritional status in an individual. The present study was designed to assess the dietary diversity of the mother and her child, their nutritional status, and any association between these. The sample comprised of mothers (n=100) and their children aged, 2-5 years (n=100), residing in Shakurpur, an urban slum of Delhi, India. Data on background information, obstetric history, household characteristics, and hygienic practices followed by the mother for herself and for her child, morbidity profile of mother and child, immunization, child feeding practices and birth information, were collected. Anthropometric measurements were taken for both mother and child and were analysed using Anthro plus software MDD-W (2016). Moderate wasting, underweight, and stunting were observed in 5%, 18%, and 20% of children respectively, as compared to severe wasting (4%), severe underweight (4%), and severe stunting (10%). No significant difference was observed in the height and weight of boys and girls. A greater proportion of mothers of pre-schoolers were either pre-obese (20%) or obese (9%) than underweight (3%) as per WHO classification, while a little over half (68%) the mothers were of normal weight. The mother’s nutritional status was significantly associated with all the indicators of her child’s nutritional status (p=0.00). More than 50% of the study population (both mothers and children) were consuming ≥5 food groups. Inadequacy in dietary diversity was more in mothers (49%) than children (42%). An association between maternal dietary diversity and child dietary diversity (χ2= 14.577, p=0.000) was observed. However, no association was found between dietary diversity of either the child or the mother and the nutritional status of the children (p>0.05). Thus, the present study showed that the diet of the mother and her child as well as the nutritional status of a mother and her child are associated. This re- emphasizes the fact that a mother and child are very closely related.

Calorie- and protein-deficient diets despite adequate dietary diversity among pregnant women in a low-income urban area in Delhi, India

“…[ 12 ] Similarly, another 2020 study conducted amongst mothers of under-5 children in an urban slum setting in west Delhi observed that only half of the mothers were able to achieve adequate dietary diversity. [ 13 ] The higher dietary diversity observed in this study could be due to the socioeconomic and cultural differences in the study populations, as also the potential difference in dietary habits of pregnant compared to lactating women.…”

Double burden of malnutrition and associated factors among mother–child pairs at household level in Bahir Dar City, Northwest Ethiopia: community based cross-sectional study design

“…Mothers who consumed ≤5 out of 10 food groups were considered to have low/inadequate dietary diversity, while the mothers who consumed ≥6 out of 10 food groups were considered to have a high dietary diversity score ( 52 ).…”

The influence of nutrition knowledge, attitude, practices, and dietary diversity on obesity among market women in the Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana: A cross‐sectional study

“…Information on portion sizes, methods of cooking were obtained using standard handy measures to determine precise food intake. The recommended 10 food groups according to WHO and the works by Ansari et al 30 for defining minimum DD indicator was used in assessing DDS. They were (i) grains, tubers, and roots (ii) pulse (beans, peas, lentils, and so forth), (iii) dairy and dairy products, (iv) flesh foods (meats, fish, and poultry), (v) eggs, (vi) vitamin A‐rich vegetables and fruits, (vii) other fruits, (viii) nuts, seeds, (ix) dark green and leafy vegetables, (x) other vegetables.…”