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Incorrect Feeding Practices, Dietary Diversity Determinants and Nutritional Status in Children Aged 6-23 Months: An
Andrea Pietravalle1, Alessia Dosi2, Telmo Ambrosio Inocêncio3
1Doctors with Africa CUAMM, 35121 Padua, Italy.
Insights
Incorrect feeding practices, such as early weaning and low meal frequency, contribute to severe acute malnutrition in children. Addressing dietary beliefs and improving access to diverse foods are crucial for better nutritional outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Nutrition Science
- Global Health
Background:
- Severe acute malnutrition disproportionately affects children in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the first 1000 days being critical for intervention.
- Incorrect feeding practices negatively impact child health, highlighting the need to understand dietary habits and quality determinants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate incorrect feeding practices, dietary diversity determinants, and nutritional status in children aged 6-23 months in Angola.
- To identify factors influencing diet quality and nutritional outcomes in young children.
Main Methods:
- A prospective, quali-quantitative observational study was conducted at a hospital in Chiulo, Angola.
- Data were collected from 250 children aged 6-23 months between March and April 2023.
Main Results:
- Global acute malnutrition affected 25.2% of children, linked to early complementary feeding (<4 months) and insufficient meal frequency.
- Only 11.2% achieved minimum dietary diversity, associated with household food access, purchasing power, and higher educational levels.
- Dietary beliefs identified pork, fish, eggs, and cow milk as harmful for children, influenced by religious and traditional factors.
Conclusions:
- Erroneous beliefs about specific foods and incorrect feeding practices (early weaning, infrequent meals) are key targets for improving nutritional counseling.
- While economic and religious factors present challenges, interventions focusing on dietary misinformation and feeding practices can enhance nutritional counseling effectiveness.
Background:
More than a quarter of children who are affected by severe acute undernutrition reside in Sub-Saharan Africa. Incorrect feeding practices have a negative impact on a child's health in both the short and the long term, and the interval from conception to two years is the most critical for the development of undernutrition-related complications. These first 1000 days of life also represent an "opportunity window" for early interventions, hence, having a clear insight into dietary habits and the determinants of diet quality is fundamental to improving nutritional counseling practices.
Objectives:
To investigate incorrect feeding practices, dietary diversity determinants and nutritional status in children aged 6-23 months.
Methods:
Prospective quali-quantitative observational study conducted at the Missionary Catholic Hospital of Chiulo (Angola) from March to April 2023.
Results:
Of 250 children, global acute malnutrition affected 25.2% and was associated with starting complementary feeding at <4 months of age (p = 0.007) and not achieving the minimum meal frequency (p < 0.0001). Minimum dietary diversity was found in 11.2%, minimum meal frequency was experienced by 72.8%, and the minimum acceptable diet was found in 11.2% of participants. The minimum dietary diversity was reached only by households with access to food from five or more major food groups (p = 0.007) or the money to buy food from five or more major food groups (p = 0.008) and was higher in households where the householder had a higher educational level (p = 0.002). Regarding the determinants linked to family traditions and beliefs, the main religion-associated beliefs concerned the impurity of pork (n = 25) and fish (n = 8), while eggs (n = 19) and cow milk (n = 8) were the main food types that were deemed harmful for children.
Conclusions:
Although some factors (economic and religious) may be difficult to overcome, other factors linked to erroneous beliefs (dangerous foods) or incorrect feeding practices (early weaning and an incorrect frequency of meals) can be targeted, to improve the effectiveness of nutritional counseling practices.
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