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First foods: Diet quality among infants aged 6–23 months in 42 countries

Author

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  • Choudhury, Samira
  • Headey, Derek D.
  • Masters, William A.

Abstract

Diet quality is closely linked to child growth and development, especially among infants aged 6–23 months who need to complement breastmilk with the gradual introduction of nutrient-rich solid foods. This paper links Demographic and Health Survey data on infant feeding to household and environmental factors for 76,641 children in 42 low- and middle-income countries surveyed in 2006–2013, providing novel stylized facts about diets in early childhood. Multivariate regressions examine the associations of household socioeconomic characteristics and community level indicators of climate and infrastructure with dietary diversity scores (DDS). Results show strong support for an infant-feeding version of Bennett's Law, as wealthier households introduce more diverse foods at earlier ages, with additional positive effects of parental education, local infrastructure and more temperate agro-climatic conditions. Associations with consumption of specific nutrient-dense foods are less consistent. Our findings imply that while income growth is indeed an important driver of diversification, there are strong grounds to also invest heavily in women’s education and food environments to improve diet quality, while addressing the impacts of climate change on livelihoods and food systems. These results reveal systematic patterns in how first foods vary across developing countries, pointing to new opportunities for research towards nutrition-smart policies to improve children’s diets.

Suggested Citation

  • Choudhury, Samira & Headey, Derek D. & Masters, William A., 2019. "First foods: Diet quality among infants aged 6–23 months in 42 countries," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:88:y:2019:i:c:s0306919219305846
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2019.101762
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ameye, Hannah & De Weerdt, Joachim, 2020. "Child health across the rural–urban spectrum," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    2. Francisco Ceballos & Manuel A. Hernandez & Cynthia Paz, 2021. "Short‐term impacts of COVID‐19 on food security and nutrition in rural Guatemala: Phone‐based farm household survey evidence," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(3), pages 477-494, May.
    3. Shweta Khandelwal & Dimple Kondal & Anindita Ray Chakravarti & Soumam Dutta & Bipsa Banerjee & Monica Chaudhry & Kamal Patil & Mallaiah Kenchaveeraiah Swamy & Usha Ramakrishnan & Dorairaj Prabhakaran , 2022. "Infant Young Child Feeding Practices in an Indian Maternal–Child Birth Cohort in Belagavi, Karnataka," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-12, April.
    4. Brian C. Thiede & Heather Randell & Clark Gray, 2022. "The Childhood Origins of Climate‐Induced Mobility and Immobility," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 48(3), pages 767-793, September.
    5. Mohammad Rafiqul Islam & Masud Alam & Munshi Naser İbne Afzal & Sakila Alam, 2023. "Nighttime light intensity and child health outcomes in Bangladesh," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(9), pages 1-33, September.
    6. Tibebu Moges & Frédéric Baudron & Hanqi Luo & Inge D. Brouwer & Roseline Remans & Jeroen C. J. Groot, 2024. "Inadequacy of nutrients in children’s diets across seasons along an agricultural intensification gradient in Ethiopia," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 16(4), pages 899-919, August.
    7. Mohammad Rafiqul Islam & Masud Alam & Munshi Naser .Ibne Afzal & Sakila Alam, 2021. "Nighttime Light Intensity and Child Health Outcomes in Bangladesh," Papers 2108.00926, arXiv.org, revised Sep 2022.

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