Inadequate feeding practices and impaired growth among children from subsistence farming households in Sidama, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Whether current child feeding practices and behaviours among rural households in Sidama, Southern Ethiopia conform to the World Health Organization (WHO) guiding principles for complementary feeding is uncertain. We assessed socio-demographic status, anthropometry, breastfeeding, complementary feeding practices and behaviours, and motor development milestones in a convenience sample of 97 breastfed children aged 6-23 months from three rural Sidama communities. Energy and nutrient intakes from complementary foods were also calculated from 1-day in-home weighed records. Prevalence of stunting ranged from 25% for infants aged 6-8 months to 52% for children aged 12-23 months, whereas for wasting, the corresponding prevalence was 10% and 14%, respectively. Very few children were exclusively breastfed up to 6 months of age (n = 2), or received solids/semi-solids for the recommended minimum number of times containing the recommended number of food groups. Responsive feeding was not practised and no cellular animal products were consumed. Median intakes of energy, and intakes and densities of micronutrients from complementary foods (but not protein) were below WHO recommendations, assuming average breast milk intakes; greatest shortfalls were for retinol, vitamin C and calcium densities. Mothers of stunted children were shorter and lighter, and from households of lower socio-economic status than non-stunted children (P < 0.05). Acquisition of some motor development milestones was delayed in stunted infants compared with their non-stunted counter-parts. In conclusion, interventions that address the WHO guiding principles for complementary feeding practices and behaviours, as well as prenatal influences on growth, are urgently required in this setting.

Poor dietary quality of complementary foods is associated with multiple micronutrient deficiencies during early childhood in Mongolia

“…These findings parallel those for young breast-fed children living in other disadvantaged countries in South/South-East Asia (4,5,31,32) and sub-Saharan Africa (33)(34)(35) , where cereal-based complementary diets containing little micronutrient-dense cellular animal foods, dark-green vegetables or yellow-orange fruits predominate.…”

“…An unusual feature of these complementary diets is the frequent consumption of cow's milk products, some of which are fermented. As a result, the Ca intakes and densities of the complementary diets, especially for Grp-1, were markedly higher than many reported elsewhere (4,(33)(34)(35)(36) . Significantly, there is some evidence that cow's milk has a positive effect on linear growth (46) , associated, at least in part, with the stimulating effect of cow's milk on insulin-like growth factors (IGF-I).…”

Prevalence of Chronic Malnutrition (Stunting) and Determinant Factors among Children Aged 0-23 Months in Western Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In contrast the finding of Ethiopian DHS 2011 report, the prevalence of stunting increases as the age of a child increase; with the highest prevalence of chronic malnutrition found in children age 24-35 months (57 percent) and lowest in children under age six months (10 percent) [5]. Also study conducted in Sidama zone, state that the prevalence of stunting ranged from 25% for infants aged 6-8 months to 52% for children aged 12-23 months [6]. In this finding, prevalence of stunting higher in boys (18.1%) than girls (13.3%) which is support to the present finding, male children are slightly more likely to be stunted than female children (46 percent and 43 percent, respectively) [5] and 9.7% in boys while 8.4% in girls [12].…”

Neurodevelopment: The Impact of Nutrition and Inflammation During Infancy in Low-Resource Settings

“…14 Due to both limited availability (eg cost constraints) and to tradition, animal flesh foods are often not offered as complementary foods to young children, and even more infrequently to infants between 6 and 12 months of age. 15,16 Primary reliance on unfortified, plant-based staple foods during the complementary feeding period, even with continued breastfeeding, often results in inadequate intake of several critical micronutrients. 16 Additionally, lower bioavailability of some micronutrients from primarily plant sources (except for some beans) may additionally compromise the adequacy of the intake of a given micronutrient.…”