| Author |
Country |
Age group |
Dietary diversity
approach (indicator) |
Main findings |
| Onyango et al. [16] |
Kenya |
12-36 mo. |
No. of foods |
1) Diversity associated with HAZ, WAZ, WHZ,
TS and MUAC;
2) Diversity >5 more important for HAZ among
non-BF children (difference between diversity
groups: 0.9 HAZ among non-BF, vs. 0.2 among
BF |
| Arimond and
Ruel [3] |
Ethiopia DHS
data |
12-36 mo. |
1) 24-h food group
diversity: 8 groups:
grains, roots/tubers, milk,
vitamin A-rich
fruits/vegetables, other
fruits/vegetables,
meat/poultry/fish/cheese/
eggs/yogurt, legumes,
fats/oils
2) 7-day food group
diversity: (same as above
except grains combined
with roots/tubers (n=7) |
1) Both 24-hour and 7-day food group diversity
strongly associated with HAZ, controlling for
child, maternal and household socioeconomic
factors.
2) Differences in adjusted mean HAZ between
lowest and highest tercile of 24-hour diversity:
0.65 Z-scores
7-day diversity: 0.67 Z-scores |
| Allen et al. [18] |
Mexico |
18-30 mo. |
8 food groups:
5 plant groups :
tortillas, legumes,
vegetables, fruits, other
3 animal groups: dairy,
eggs, meat |
1) Positive correlation between % energy from
animal foods and HAZ. Also correlation between
% energy from dairy and HAZ.
2) Negative correlation between % energy from
plant foods (tortillas in particular) and HAZ |
| Taren and
Chen [19] |
China |
12-47 mo. |
Food group scale (0-7):
rice, egg, vegetables,
fruits, soybeans, meat,
other |
Significant difference of 0.20 HAZ between
children who consumed < 3 groups and rest of
sample |
| Marquis et al. [20] |
Peru |
12-15 mo. |
1) 27 foods and beverages
consumed more than
twice/wk.
2) 5 animal food groups:
cow milk, meat, organ
meats, eggs, fish |
1) Association between no. animal foods and
length not significant as main effect.
2) Interactions: a).animal foods associated with
length in children with low overall diversity; b) BF
associated with length in children with low intakes
of animal foods. |
| Tarini et al. [21] |
Niger |
24-48 mo. |
Diversity score (DS): 11
food groups over 3 days
(see above for details) |
Association DS and growth not significant (low
correlations, significant only for WHZ in one
round) |
| Hatløy et al. [22] |
Mali |
6-59 mo. |
1) Household level FVS
2) DDS (same as above:
Hatløy, Torheim, and
Oshaug (1998) |
In urban areas: lower FVS or DDS has twice risk
of stunted or underweight; rural areas: no
association (controlling for SES) |
