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Developing
and Validating Simple Indicators of Dietary Quality and Energy Intake of Infants
and Young Children in Developing Countries: Summary of Findings from Analysis
of 10 Data Sets
Clear guidance for the international community on optimal infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices has been achieved with the publication of the Guiding Principles for Complementary Feeding of the Breastfed Child (PAHO/WHO 2003) and Guiding Principles for the Non-Breastfed Child 6-24 Months of Age (WHO 2005). Over the past several years, FANTA has implemented a multi-stage initiative to develop a set of indicators to assess IYCF practices and to monitor and evaluate progress on improving IYCF practices worldwide. FANTA has worked with IFPRI, University of California at Davis, WHO, and collaborating researchers from several developing countries to develop and validate indicators of feeding practices, specifically related to the frequency of feeding and nutrient density of complementary foods, for infants and young children 6 through 23 months of age in developing countries.
Two main research questions addressed were:
1. How well does dietary diversity (sum of foods/food groups ) predict dietary quality in different populations with varying dietary patterns?
2. How well does the frequency of feeding of foods and nutritive liquids other than breast milk predict energy intake in different populations with varying dietary patterns?
The main findings of this collaborative research activity are documented in the final report Developing and Validating Simple Indicators of Dietary Quality and Energy Intake of Infants and Young Children in Developing Countries: Summary of findings from analysis of 10 data sets.
