Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Samara University, Samara, Ethiopia.
Department of General Midwifery, School of Midwifery, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Nov 2;24(1):3039. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-20472-2.
Proper nutrition during early childhood is essential for healthy growth and development, yet many children, particularly in low and middle-income countries, fail to meet recommended intake levels of fruits and vegetables. This study aims to assess the factors associated with zero vegetable and fruit (ZVF) consumption among children aged 6-23 months in Tanzania, using data from the 2022 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (DHS).
A weighted sample of 4582 children aged between 6 and 23 months were included in the study. Data cleaning, coding, and analysis were performed using STATA version 17 software. To address the hierarchical nature of the DHS data and the binary outcome variable, a multilevel mixed-effect binary logistic regression model was used. The deviance value served as a guide for determining the best-fitting model. In the subsequent multivariable multilevel binary logistic regression analysis, adjusted odds ratios were computed alongside their respective 95% confidence intervals to evaluate the strength of association, with statistical significance set at a p-value below 0.05.
The overall proportion of ZVF consumption among children aged 6-23 months in Tanzania was 48.34% (95% CI: 46.87, 49.81). Current breastfeeding status, maternal educational status, household wealth index, sex of the household head, and community poverty level were associated with higher odds of ZVF consumption. Meanwhile, child age, maternal employment status, father's educational status, and media exposure were associated with lower odds of ZVF consumption.
Child age, current breastfeeding status, maternal educational status, maternal employment status, father's educational status, household wealth index, sex of household, media exposure, and community poverty level were significantly associated with ZVF consumption. Efforts should focus on educating mothers about the early introduction of fruits and vegetables in children's diets, alongside supporting breastfeeding. Tailored economic empowerment initiatives are needed in impoverished communities to improve access to nutritious foods.
儿童在幼儿期获得适当的营养对于健康成长和发育至关重要，但许多儿童，尤其是在低收入和中等收入国家，未能达到推荐的水果和蔬菜摄入量。本研究旨在评估坦桑尼亚 6-23 个月儿童零蔬菜和水果（ZVF）消费的相关因素，使用的是 2022 年坦桑尼亚人口与健康调查（DHS）的数据。
研究纳入了年龄在 6-23 个月之间的 4582 名儿童的加权样本。使用 STATA 版本 17 软件进行数据清理、编码和分析。为了解决 DHS 数据的层次结构和二项式因变量的性质，使用了多级混合效应二项逻辑回归模型。偏差值用于指导确定最佳拟合模型。在随后的多变量多级二项逻辑回归分析中，计算了调整后的优势比及其相应的 95%置信区间，以评估关联的强度，统计学显著性设定为 p 值低于 0.05。
坦桑尼亚 6-23 个月儿童中 ZVF 消费的总体比例为 48.34%（95%CI：46.87，49.81）。当前母乳喂养状态、母亲教育程度、家庭财富指数、户主性别和社区贫困水平与 ZVF 消费的可能性更高相关。而儿童年龄、母亲就业状况、父亲教育程度和媒体接触与 ZVF 消费的可能性较低相关。
儿童年龄、当前母乳喂养状态、母亲教育程度、母亲就业状况、父亲教育程度、家庭财富指数、户主性别、媒体接触和社区贫困水平与 ZVF 消费显著相关。应重点教育母亲在儿童饮食中尽早引入水果和蔬菜，并支持母乳喂养。应在贫困社区开展有针对性的经济赋权举措，以改善获得营养食品的机会。
