Assessing the Nutritional Adequacy of Complementary Foods and Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices in Sodo Zurea Woreda, Wolaiyta Zone, Southern Ethiopia.

Objectives: To evaluate nutrient adequacy of complementary foods in the study area by comparison with recommendations. To determine the energy and nutrient intakes from complementary foods consumed by infants and young children. To assess TYCF and caring practices in the study area. Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was conducted. Socio-demographic status, anthropometry, breastfeeding, complementary feeding practices and behaviors were assessed and stratified two-stage cluster sampling technique was used to select adequately representative samples of 180 breastfed children aged 6–23 months from three rural Wolaiyta communities Results: Energy and nutrient intakes from complementary foods were calculated from 1-day inhome weighed food records. Only 20 % infants and young children were exclusively breastfed up to 6 months of age. No mothers with infants aged 6-11 months had fed them meat, chicken, or fish in the last 24 hours prior to data collection. Very few children (3.3 %) were fed according to the standard infant and young child feeding guidelines and responsive feeding was not practiced. Median energy intakes and densities of micronutrients from complementary foods (except for protein) were below the WHO recommendations. Prevalence of stunting was 16.7 % for infants aged 6–8 months, 33.3 % for infants aged 9–11 months and 50 % for children 12-24 months. Land ownership between families having stunted and non-stunted children was statistically significant (p< 0.001) and stunting with age group was statistically significant (p<0.001). Conclusions: Nutrition education interventions that address the WHO guiding principles for complementary feeding practices and behaviors on growth are desperately required in the study participants.

Consumption of Micronutrient rich Animal Source Foods and Cognitive Performance in Primary School Children in Hawassa Town, Southern Ethiopia.

Objectives: To assess consumption of animal source foods (ASF) and cognitive performance in Ethiopian primary school children. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Hawassa town, Southern Ethiopia among primary school children (n=116) aged 7-9 and enrolled in five schools. Participants were selected by two stage random sampling. Child dietary diversity was assessed using 8 food groups recommended by Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA). Child anthropometric status and family socioeconomic characteristics were also measured. The Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices (CPM board version) and selected tests from the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC-II) were used to assess cognitive performance. KABC-II scores were standardized for age before analysis. Results: Thirteen (13%) of the children were stunted, 5% were wasted and 13% were underweight. Mean (SD) weight-for- age (WAZ), height-for-age (HAZ) and BMI-for-age Z-scores were -0.9 (0.9), -0.7 (1.1) and -0.6 (0.8), respectively. All participants consumed foods made from grains, roots and tubers. However, only 15% of children consumed ASF, which included meat, poultry, fish or eggs. The Mean diet diversity score was 3.8 (1.1). Wealth significantly predicted child diet diversity (P= 0.006, R2=0.12). Consumption of ASF predicted Sequential Scale (P= 0.05, Adj. R2=0.14) and Triangles (P= 0.022, R2=0.14) cognitive test scores. Height-for-age (P= 0.001), and maternal education (P= 0.002) accounted for 27% of variance in Pattern Reasoning test scores. Maternal education also predicted sequential scale (P=0.002) and triangles (P=0.0004) scores. Conclusions: Consumption of ASF was low in this group of school children and along with maternal education predicted performance on cognitive tests.