1. Introduction of Fruits and Vegetables into Children's Diets in the Iringa Region, Tanzania
- Author
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Christine Ludwig, Gudrun B. Keding, John Msuya, and Michael B. Krawinkel
- Subjects
Rural Population ,Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Urban Population ,Breastfeeding ,Mothers ,Developing country ,Diet Surveys ,Tanzania ,Interviews as Topic ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Vegetables ,Humans ,Medicine ,Weaning ,Child ,biology ,business.industry ,Infant ,Systematic sampling ,biology.organism_classification ,Micronutrient ,Diet ,Infectious Diseases ,Agriculture ,Child, Preschool ,Fruit ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Rural area ,business ,Demography - Abstract
Introduction of Fruits and Vegetables into Children’sDiets in the Iringa Region, TanzaniaUndernutrition is still a major problem among chil-dren under the age of 5 years in developing countries[1], often occurring during the weaning period, whichis recommended by World Health Organization tostart after 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding[2, 3]. However, little is known about the introduc-tion time and consumption frequency of complemen-tary foods in Tanzania. Therefore, an explorativestudy was conducted in the Iringa Region ofTanzania’s Southern Highlands during the dryseason in August and September 2008. Participantswere recruited by a systematic sampling procedureconsisting of 124 rural and urban mothers and heryoungest child between the age of 6 months and5 years. Mothers were interviewed with structuredand open-ended questionnaires. Children’s dietaryintakes were assessed using a single 24-h dietaryrecall [4], of which a dietary diversity score (DDS)[5] and a food variety score (FVS) according toDrewnowski et al. [6] were calculated. Children’sheights and weights were measured with a portablewooden stadiometer (Shorr Productions ofMaryland, USA) and a digital scale (Seca 862, SecaGmbH & Co KG, Hamburg, Germany), respectively.ENA-software using WHO Child Growth Standards2005 [7] was applied to determine the nutritionalstatus. Data of nine children were incomplete andexcluded of the statistical analysis [SPSS version17.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA)]. The medianchild’s age was 19 months (Table 1). Children wereintroduced to grain-based complementary foods,fruits and vegetables at a median age of4.0 (0.1/12), 6.0 (1/17) and 8.0 (2/24) months, respect-ively, with no statistical differences between the ruraland urban area. A total of 76% of children wereintroduced to complementary foods earlier than thefirst 6 months of life. Notably, the introduction wasstill later than in other developing and developedcountries [8–13]. However, 51% were given solidsbefore reaching the age of 4 months, increasingtheir risk of diarrhoea. Regarding vegetables,30% of children were not given any before reachingthe age of 12 months increasing their risk of develop-ing micronutrient deficiencies. The mean DDS was5 while children were primarily fed starchy foods,such as maize, plain rice, cassava and sweet potatoes(Fig. 1). Regarding vegetables, they ate traditionalvegetables adapted to local agricultural conditionsand incorporated into the family’s diet. The medianand mean FVS was 11 and higher than the mean FVSof 5.5 found in a South African study [14], but com-parable to the mean value of 10 found amongGuatemalan infants [15]. The observed stunting rateof 41% was similar to the rate of 38% found by theTanzanian Demographic and Health Survey 2004–05(TDHS) [16]. Both weights and heights of childrenwere positively correlated with the number of fruitand vegetable types consumed as well as DDSand FVS. These findings indicate that a higher foodvariety has positive impacts on weight andheight development of children, although thisimpact is not fully understood. Conclusively, furtherinvestigations on the impact of young children’sdiets on their growth, health and development areneeded.C
- Published
- 2011