Diet and development among children aged 36-59 months in low-income countries
Lilia Bliznashka1,2, Nandita Perumal2, Aisha Yousafzai2
1Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK lilia.bliznashka@gmail.com.
Insights
Child diet diversity is linked to more stimulation activities for young children. Minimum dietary diversity (MDD) was associated with better literacy-numeracy development, especially when combined with stimulation.
Area of Science:
- Child Nutrition and Development
- Global Health
- Early Childhood Education
Background:
- Diet and stimulation are crucial for child development in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
- Understanding these associations is vital for targeted interventions.
- Limited data exists on the interplay between diet, stimulation, and development in LMIC contexts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between children's diet, stimulation activities, and developmental outcomes.
- To assess these associations in children aged 36-59 months residing in LMICs.
Main Methods:
- Utilized pooled Demographic and Health Survey data from 12,126 children across 15 LMICs.
- Assessed child diet using dietary diversity score (DDS), minimum dietary diversity (MDD), and animal source foods (ASFs) consumption.
- Evaluated child development via the Early Childhood Development Index and stimulation by counting activities, analyzed with generalized linear models.
Main Results:
- Higher DDS, MDD, and ASFs consumption correlated with 8-13% more stimulation activities.
- Meeting MDD showed a slight association with reduced suboptimal literacy-numeracy development (RR 0.97).
- Dietary factors were not significantly linked to cognitive, socioemotional, or physical development, but MDD showed positive links in specific subgroups.
Conclusions:
- Child diet positively influences stimulation activities.
- Diet, particularly meeting minimum dietary diversity, appears to be a key factor for literacy-numeracy development, independent of other influences.
- Combined dietary diversity and stimulation may enhance cognitive and literacy-numeracy development in early childhood.
Objective:
To assess the associations between diet, stimulation and development among children 36-59 months of age in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Design:
We pooled Demographic and Health Survey data on 12 126 children aged 36-59 months from 15 LMICs. Child diet indicators included dietary diversity score (DDS, range 0-7), minimum dietary diversity (MDD, defined as DDS ≥4) and animal source foods (ASFs) consumption. Child development was assessed using the Early Childhood Development Index and stimulation by the number of stimulation activities (range 0-6). Associations were assessed using generalised linear models.
Results:
In our sample, 18% of children met MDD and 50% received ≥4 stimulation activities. The prevalence of suboptimal cognitive, socioemotional, literacy-numeracy and physical development was 24%, 32%, 87% and 11%, respectively. Higher DDS, meeting MDD and consuming ASFs were associated with 8%-13% more stimulation activities. Children who met MDD were slightly less likely to have suboptimal literacy-numeracy development compared with children who did not meet MDD: relative risk 0.97 (95% CI 0.95 to 1.00). DDS, meeting MDD and ASFs consumption were not associated with cognitive, socioemotional or physical development. However, there was evidence of positive associations between MDD and cognitive and literacy-numeracy development among subgroups of children, including those who received ≥4 stimulation activities or attended an early childhood care and education programme.
Conclusions:
Child diet was associated with more stimulation activities. However, independent of stimulation, socioeconomic status and other factors, child diet appeared to be a prominent determinant only of literacy-numeracy development among children 36-59 months of age.
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