Atim Elizabeth, Atukwase Abel, Kabahenda Margaret
Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Afr Health Sci. 2024 Sep;24(3):322-332. doi: 10.4314/ahs.v24i3.36.
Complementary feeding practices influence the nutritional status and health of children, especially in developing countries where sub-optimal infant feeding practices are the major cause of childhood undernutrition, morbidity, and mortality. This study sought to characterize the adequacy of complimentary feeding and food handling practices among caregivers of children aged 6-23 months in a semi-urban setting.
Exploratory cross-sectional study was conducted in Adyel division, Lira district in Northern Uganda among 127 child-caregiver pairs randomly selected from three villages. Caregivers were interviewed about their child-feeding practices, complementary foods used, and common practices in handling and preparation of foods used as complementary feeds.
Overall, children's feeding patterns met the recommended dietary intake when assessed using the child feeding index (CFI) whereby children aged 6-8, 9-11, and 12-23 months scored 8.03, 9.17, and 7.59, respectively. However, most children were complemented with foods from the household meals and dietary diversity was limited by frequent use of food leftover from the previous meals.
Inappropriate meal patterns and food handling practices identified are likely to compromise child nutrition and health. Nutrition education is needed to improve the caregivers' child-feeding and food handling practices within their socio-economic and cultural context.
辅食喂养方式会影响儿童的营养状况和健康，尤其是在发展中国家，次优的婴儿喂养方式是儿童营养不良、发病和死亡的主要原因。本研究旨在描述半城市环境中6至23个月儿童的照料者的辅食喂养充足性和食物处理方式。
在乌干达北部利拉区阿代尔分区进行了探索性横断面研究，从三个村庄中随机选取了127对儿童-照料者。对照料者就其儿童喂养方式、使用的辅食、以及用作辅食的食物的处理和制备的常见方式进行了访谈。
总体而言，使用儿童喂养指数（CFI）评估时，儿童的喂养模式符合推荐的膳食摄入量，6至8个月、9至11个月和12至23个月的儿童得分分别为8.03、9.17和7.59。然而，大多数儿童的辅食是家庭餐中的食物，并且由于频繁使用上一餐剩下的食物，饮食多样性受到限制。
所发现的不适当的用餐模式和食物处理方式可能会损害儿童的营养和健康。需要开展营养教育，以在照料者的社会经济和文化背景下改善其儿童喂养和食物处理方式。
