Diet Quality among Young Children in India: Results from National Family Health Survey 2019-21

Praveen Kumar R, School of Public Health, SRMIST
Y Selvamani, School of Public Health, SRMIST

Ensuring adequate quality nutrition in terms of diverse diet and timings in early childhood is key to breaking the intergenerational cycle of undernutrition and poverty. This study assesses the diet quality of young children age 6 to 23 months in India and its associated factors using the secondary data analysis of Indian National Family Health Survey 5. Diet quality is assessed using Minimum Adequate Diet. This study examined the diet quality and its determinants among children age 6 – 23 months in India. The prevalence minimum acceptable diet (MAD) is 11.3%. Our study found that maternal education, media exposure, improved socioeconomic status and antenatal care significant positive predictors in improving diet quality among young children. These findings can guide the development of nutrition-specific programs and policies designed to enhance infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and improve the nutritional status of children aged 6 to 23 months in India.

Keywords: Children, Adolescents, and Youth, Data and Methods, Families, Unions and Households, Health and Morbidity

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