Household food insecurity is associated with low dietary diversity among pregnant and lactating women in rural Malawi.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To examine the association between household food insecurity and dietary diversity in the past 24h (dietary diversity score (DDS, range: 0-9); minimum dietary diversity (MDD, consumption of three or more food groups); consumption of nine separate food groups) among pregnant and lactating women in rural Malawi.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Setting

Two rural districts in Central Malawi.

Subjects

Pregnant (n 589) and lactating (n 641) women.

Results

Of surveyed pregnant and lactating women, 66·7 and 68·6 %, respectively, experienced moderate or severe food insecurity and only 32·4 and 28·1 %, respectively, met MDD. Compared with food-secure pregnant women, those who reported severe food insecurity had a 0·36 lower DDS (P<0·05) and more than th

SUBMITTER: Kang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10260502 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature