Thorne-Lyman, Andrew L.

Abstract

The value of animal-sourced foods (ASFs) in providing key nutrients, particularly for child growth and where diets are of low quality, is understood mainly from cross-sectional assessment of current consumption. Longitudinal panel data from Nepal, Bangladesh and Uganda were used here to assess associations among previous (lagged) and contemporaneous ASF intake with linear growth of children aged 6–24 months.

Abstract

Background: Preschool child anthropometric status has been assessed nationally in Nepal since
1975, with semi-decadal surveys since 1996, plus several recent, short-interval surveys to track
progress toward achieving a World Health Assembly (WHA) goal to reduce stunting to 24% by 2025.

Urbanization is occurring rapidly in many low- and middle-income countries, which may affect households’ livelihoods, diet, and food security and nutritional outcomes.

The main objective of our study was to explore whether agricultural activity amongst a peri-urban population in Nepal was associated with better or worse food household security, household and maternal dietary diversity, and nutritional outcomes for children and women.

Poor vitamin B-12 (cobalamin) status is widespread in South Asia. Insufficient vitamin B-12 status has been linked to poor neurodevelopment in young children.

Children’s dietary patterns vary seasonally, particularly in subsistence agriculture settings like Nepal, but the seasonality of nutritious non-staple food consumption is not well explored in the literature.

Preschool undernutrition remains a burden in Nepal. This paper reports results of surveys in 2013 and 2014, examining patterns of child nutritional status across the country, associations with household food insecurity and antecedent comparative national data for subsequent evaluations of nutritional status following the earthquake in Nepal in 2015.

This poster uses data from over 300 children observed over 33 months to draw parallels between early childhood development outcomes and consumption of animal source foods. Presented at ICN 2017.

Despite marked improvement in child undernutrition, especially stunting, in Nepal over the past decade, stunting prevalence remains high at 41% thus generating an urgent need to understand factors associated with childhood stunting.

The earthquake that hit Nepal in April, 2015, caused considerable structural damage and loss of life but little is known about the longer term impacts of the earthquake on nutritional status of preschool children and related risk factors. This analysis provides the first systematic national estimate of the nutritional situation in Nepal following the earthquake.