Abstract
In 2011-2012, severe El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions (La Niña) led to massive flooding and temporarily displacement in the Peruvian Amazon. Our aims were to examine the impact of this ENSO exposure on child diets, in particular: (1) frequency of food consumption patterns, (2) the amount of food consumed (g/d), (3) dietary diversity (DD), (4) consumption of donated foods, among children aged 9-36 months living in the outskirts of City of Iquitos in the Amazonian Peru. This was a longitudinal study that used quantitative 24-h recall dietary data collection from children aged 9-36 months from 2010 to 2014 as part of the MAL-ED birth cohort study. Iquitos, Loreto, Peru. Two hundred and fifty-two mother-child dyads. The frequency of grains, rice, dairy and sugar in meals reduced by 5-7 %, while the frequency of plantain in meals increased by 24 % after adjusting for covariates. ENSO exposure reduced girl's intake of plantains and sugar. Despite seasonal fluctuations in the availability of fruits, vegetables and fish, DD remained constant across seasons and as children aged. However, DD was significantly reduced under moderate La Niña conditions by 0·32 (P < 0·05) food groups. Adaptive social strategies such as consumption of donated foods were significantly higher among households with girls. This is the first empirical study to show differential effect of the ENSO on the dietary patterns of children, highlighting differences by gender. Public health nutrition programmes should be climate- and gender-sensitive in their efforts to safeguard the diets of vulnerable populations.
Highlights
We evaluate the relationship between El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the dietary diversity (DD) of these children aged 9–36 months and household food insecurity coping strategies under various ENSO phases
This study aimed to explore the associations between ENSO exposure and food consumption patterns in the Peruvian Amazon from 2010 to 2014
During 2011–12, severe floods were observed during La Nina, and as a result, an estimated half of the study population was temporarily displaced[18]
Summary
This analysis evaluates how ENSO events translate into differences in individual-level dietary patterns, defined as the amount and diversity of foods consumed by children in Iquitos, Peru from 2010 to 2014. We test [1] whether ENSO conditions (primarily La Nina in 2011–2012) led to changes in frequency of meals with fish, meat, eggs, poultry, grains, rice, plantains, yucca, dairy and sugar after adjusting for age, season, morbidity and other possible confounding factors among children aged 9–36 months in the Peruvian Amazon, and [2] whether the relationship from the first analysis was true for intake of (grams) of rice, sugar, yucca and fish
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
