Household food security is associated with growth of infants and young children in rural Bangladesh

Abstract

Objective: Despite a strong relationship between household food security and the health and nutritional status of adults and older children, the association of household food security with the growth of infants and young children has not been adequately studied, particularly in developing countries. We examined the association between household food security and subsequent growth of infants and young children in rural Bangladesh. Design: We followed 1343 children from birth to 24 months of age who were born in the Maternal and Infant Nutrition Intervention in Matlab (MINIMat) study in rural Bangladesh. A food security scale was created from data collected on household food security from the mothers during pregnancy. Data on weight and length were collected monthly in the first year and quarterly in the second year of life. Anthropometric indices were calculated relative to the 2006 WHO child growth standards. Growth trajectories were modelled using multilevel models for change controlling for possible confounders. Results: Household food security was associated (P , 0?05) with greater subsequent weight and length gain in this cohort. Attained weight, length and anthropometric indices from birth to 24 months were higher (P , 0?001) among those who were in food-secure households. Proportions of underweight and stunting were significantly (P , 0?05) lower in food-secure households. Conclusions: These results suggest that household food security is a determinant of child growth in rural Bangladesh, and that it may be necessary to ensure food security of these poor rural households to prevent highly prevalent undernutrition in this population and in similar settings elsewhere in the world.

Stunting at birth: recognition of early-life linear growth failure in the western highlands of Guatemala

“…Nevertheless, we have identified studies, both from Guatemala and in the international literature, with which to compare the present findings. Birth length is often part of protocols in long-term cohort studies bridging from birth through childhood and towards adulthood (40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45) or short-term, longitudinal observational studies seeking to find correlates of early growth or health (46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53) . More recently, length is measured at birth as part of studies evaluating inter-pregnancy interventions in (4) .…”

Association between household food access insecurity and nutritional status indicators among children aged <5 years in Nepal: results from a national, cross-sectional household survey

“…from Bangladesh (15) , Pakistan (10) and India (13) , rendering HFI data non-comparable. HFI prevalence in NDHS 2011 was less than in the study (69 %) from Kailali District, far-western Nepal, which used a five-item scale similar to HFIAS (22) .…”

La lactancia materna exclusiva en menores de seis meses se asocia con un mejor peso para la longitud en hogares con inseguridad alimentaria en México

“…La protección de la LME<6m se espera que sea mayor en niños más vulnerables, 1 que viven en hogares con IA moderada y severa, hogares donde hay más pobreza, insalubridad, mayor relación niños/adultos, menor acceso a servicios de salud, mayor incidencia de infecciones y mayor rezago social comparados con hogares en SA. [7][8][9][10][11][12] En el presente estudio no se documentó esta misma relación protectora de la LME<6m en la longitud de los pequeños; i.e., la diferencia de la longitud para la edad (Z L/E) no fue estadísticamente significativa entre niños de hogares con o sin SA. Estos hallazgos tienen un significado particularmente importante en términos de salud pública infantil porque resaltan el papel protector de la LME<6m contra el bajo peso para la longitud; que cuando es bajo se define como desnutrición aguda.…”

“…[7][8][9][10][11][12] Pocos estudios han explorado el papel de la lactancia en familias en inseguridad alimentaria, y los hallazgos son mixtos. En Brasil, la IA se asocia a una mayor duración de lactancia 13 mientras que en inmigrantes en Estados Unidos, la IA se asoció a una duración más corta.…”