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Linking national data on food availability and child nutrition outcomes in 45 less developed countries to identify appropriate amounts of foods in national supplies
Author(s) -
Arsenault Joanne,
Hijmans Robert
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.898.46
Subject(s) - per capita , medicine , food group , environmental health , nutrient , dietary diversity , latin americans , linear regression , zoology , agriculture , food security , biology , mathematics , population , statistics , ecology , linguistics , philosophy
Animal‐source foods provide nutrients for growth and diet diversity of young children, but the optimal proportion of energy intake from these foods is uncertain. We calculated the percentage of energy per capita from animal‐source (%AF) and staple cereal and tuber (%CT) foods in national food supplies of 45 less developed countries (LDC) in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America using FAO food availability data. We extracted child stunting prevalence data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and calculated dietary diversity scores (DDS) of child diets from DHS data using 7 food groups. We examined relations between %AF (and %CT) and stunting and DDS using correlational and linear regression analysis and predicted the %AF and %CT to meet desirable nutrition outcomes (< 20% stunting prevalence and DDS 蠅 4). The mean (SD) %AF, %CT, % stunted, and DDS were 9 (6), 59 (12), 32 (12), and 3 (0.8), respectively. %AF was inversely related to stunting (r= ‐0.59, p<0.0001) and positively related to DDS (r= 0.63, p<0.0001). %CT was related positively to stunting (r=0.70, p<0.0001) and inversely to DDS (r= ‐0.58, p<0.0001). From predicted regression equations, 19 and 23 %AF corresponded to desired levels of stunting and DDS, respectively; and 43 and 32 %CT corresponded to desired levels of stunting and DDS, respectively. Although an upper limit of %AF to minimize chronic disease risk should also be identified, these analyses demonstrate that shifts in food supplies towards ~19 %AF could improve child nutrition outcomes in LDC and this information could be used to help inform national agricultural policy. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant #OPP1099842.