Toddlers’ Dietary Diversity and Its Determinants in Different Agricultural Periods

Abstract

Background: Inadequate diet and illness were immediate causes of malnutrition. Dietary diversity helps to ensure adequate intake of essential nutrients and promotes good health. Challenge is to maintain adequate nutrients intake during all periods. The primary study objective was to determine the toddlers' dietary diversity and its determinants in<br />different agricultural periods.<br />Methods: In this repeated cross-sectional study, a 24 hours open recall was used to collect all foods eaten by toddlers. These data were collected three times in households at the Centre-West region of Burkina Faso. The dietary diversity score (DDS) equals the number of food groups consumed. The toddler's dietary diversity was low when DDSrecommended by WHO. The associations between toddlers' DDS with periodicity, sociodemographic, and economic variables were determined.<br />Results: The means of toddlers' dietary diversity scores during agricultural mitigation, welding, and increase periods were 4.5 [4.3-4.6], 4.4 [4.2-4.5], and 4.8 [4.7-5.0], respectively. During agricultural mitigation, welding and increase periods, 77%, 73% and 87% of toddlers reached the minimum dietary diversity score, respectively. This study revealed that toddlers' dietary diversity was associated with the province of residence, household market gardening practice, household head gender and age, toddlers' gender and age, giving toddlers' food from outside, and toddlers' meal frequency.<br />Conclusion: Toddlers' dietary diversity was associated with gender, age, feeding, and agricultural practices.