Abstract
BackgroundAlthough minimum dietary diversity (MDD) is one of the core indicators of a high-quality diet for infants and young children, meeting this dietary diversity standard remains a challenge in Ethiopia. Therefore, adequate information on the status and factors affecting minimum dietary diversity is essential to identify potential strategic interventions. This study to study is to assess DD and associated factors among children aged 6 to 23 months in Chelia District, Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the seven kebeles of Chelia District from 12th April to April 30th, 2020. Kebele is the smallest administrative unit in Ethiopia. Multistage sampling was used to select 631 participants who had a child aged 6 to 23 months. Data was entered into the Epi data version 3.1 and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 24. A binary logistic regression was fitted to identify significant factors associated with met MDD at 95% CI and a p-value < 0.05.ResultsLess than one-quarter (17.32%) of infants and young children aged 6 to 23 months had met MDD. The dominant group of foods consumed was composed of grains, roots, and tubers. Children aged18-23 months (AOR = 3.26, 1.36-7.79), mothers aged 35-44 years (AOR = 3.25, 1.38-7.45), housewives as household heads (AOR = 3.41, 1.56-2.37), children of smaller family size (AOR = 3.89, 1.18-12.78), and caregivers who studied grade 9-12 (AOR = 9.98, 5.66-17.10), who received information about food diversity during ANC (AOR = 1.48, 2.21-11.23) and PNC (AOR = 3.94, 2.04-7.63) visit, who travels less than one hour to reach the market (AOR = 2.94, 1.24-6.91) and who had high family income (AOR = 4.12, 1.90-8.19) were significantly associated with meeting MDD.ConclusionDietary diversity among children aged 6 to 23 months in Chelia District is low. It is proposed that caregivers on MDD be educated/trained and encouraged to share information during health service in order to increase the diverse diet and achieve a better dietary diversity score for infants and younger children.
Highlights
The nutritional status of children under two years of age is directly affected by their feeding practices and, impacted child survival
Implementing the core indicators of Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices such as early initiation of breast milk with one hour of birth, implementing exclusive breastfeeding for under six months of life, initiating complementary feeding at six months of life, continuing breastfeeding until one year of age, and consumption of iron-rich or iron-fortified foods contributes a significant reduction in child mortality and morbidity [3]
Less than one-quarter (17.2%) of children aged 6 to 23 months had offered four or more food groups. This finding is similar to reports from Ethiopia, Amara Region in Dabat District [19] and higher than the national survey (EDHS, 2016) and other study results reported in Ethiopia and India 13% [4, 17, 20, 21]
Summary
The nutritional status of children under two years of age is directly affected by their feeding practices and, impacted child survival. Implementing the core indicators of Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices such as early initiation of breast milk with one hour of birth, implementing exclusive breastfeeding for under six months of life, initiating complementary feeding at six months of life, continuing breastfeeding until one year of age, and consumption of iron-rich or iron-fortified foods contributes a significant reduction in child mortality and morbidity [3]. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin A or iron remains low among young children in Ethiopia [4]. Minimum dietary diversity (MDD) is one of the core indicators of a high-quality diet for infants and young children, meeting this dietary diversity standard remains a challenge in Ethiopia. This study to study is to assess DD and associated factors among children aged 6 to 23 months in Chelia District, Ethiopia
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