ABSTRACT
After 6 months, children require increased food and nutrient intake from complementary food for their growth and development. However, quantitative data on macro and micronutrient intakes from complementary food is limited. Thus, this study is designed to identify the adequacy of energy and micronutrient intake from complementary foods among children aged 6-23 months and to characterize current feeding practice in Southern Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February to March 2016. Simple random sampling was used to recruit 190 mothers/primary caregivers of children aged 6-23 months. A repeated interactive multiple-pass 24-hr recall survey was used to assess' food and nutrient intake of children. Complementary food was low in animal sources, fruits, and vegetables. Most of the children (94.7%) consume grain, roots, and tubers. Vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables are consumed by 71 (37.8%) children. Very few (1.6%) children consume iron-fortified food. Median protein intake exceeds the estimated requirement from complementary food. Except for vitamin B2 and B6, intake of energy and micronutrient were below world health organization (WHO) recommendations among children aged 9-23 months. In conclusion, infant and young child feeding practices in Butajira district did not conform to recommendations. Intake of energy and micronutrient from complementary food among children aged 6-23 months in Butajira district was inadequate. Consumption of a diverse diet by including animal source food (ASF) such as poultry, organ meat, chicken liver, beef, fruits, and vegetables is needed to fill the nutrient intake gap among the study participant.
ABSTRACT
Although pregnant women are required to increase food and nutrient intake to accommodate for the increased nutritional demands, information on dietary behaviour and nutrient intake is limited. This study aimed to identify the adequacy and differences in intake between pregnant and non-pregnant women in a rural community of Butajira district, Southern Ethiopia. Simple random sampling was used to recruit 159 pregnant and 164 non-pregnant women. An interactive multiple pass 24-h recall survey was used to evaluate the food and nutrient intake of the study participants. Except for iron, vitamin A and C, intakes of macro and micronutrient were below the recommendations. Almost all study participants were deficient in energy, protein, calcium, folate and niacin intakes. There was no significant difference in the mean dietary intake of all nutrients between pregnant and non-pregnant women (p > 0.05). The prevalence of inadequacy was comparable between pregnant and non-pregnant women in all of the nutrient intakes except for Zn, where the prevalence of inadequacy was much higher among the pregnant women. Nearly all (99.0%) of the pregnant women were deficient in niacin, folate and calcium. Although all pregnant women considered it important to increase food intake during pregnancy, only a quarter of women reported to do so. In conclusion, pregnant women in the rural community of Butajira district do not make significant dietary intake adjustments to account for increased nutrient needs during pregnancy. In food insecure areas, such as ours, nutritional counselling complemented with supplementary feeding programmes could be key to ensure adequate dietary intake. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
