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  • Original Article
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Interventions and public health nutrition

Household food insecurity and dietary diversity as correlates of maternal and child undernutrition in rural Cambodia

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 69, pages 242–246 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objectives:

To assess household food insecurity and dietary diversity as correlates of maternal and child anthropometric status and anemia in rural Cambodia.

Methods:

Trained interviewers administered a survey to 900 households in four rural districts of Prey Veng, Cambodia. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) were used to assess household food insecurity and dietary diversity. The height, weight and hemoglobin concentration of the mother and youngest child under 5 years in each household were measured. Multivariate logistic regression models were constructed to assess the association between household food insecurity and dietary diversity, and child stunting and wasting, maternal thinness, maternal and child anemia.

Results:

The mean (s.d.) HFIAS and HDDS scores were 5.3 (3.9) and 4.7 (1.6), respectively. The respective prevalences of mild, moderate and severe food insecurity were 33, 37 and 12%. Maternal thinness, child stunting and child wasting were present in 14.6, 25.4 and 8.1% of respondents, respectively. The risk of maternal thinness, but not child stunting or wasting, increased as the severity of household food insecurity increased. Household food insecurity was also positively associated with maternal, but not child, anemia. Household dietary diversity status was not significantly associated with any of the outcomes we assessed.

Conclusions:

Efforts to improve household food security are important as a means of promoting maternal nutritional status; however, additional research is needed to better understand the role of other factors that are driving the burden of child undernutrition in Cambodia.

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Acknowledgements

Project undertaken with the financial support of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), www.idrc.ca, and the Government of Canada, provided through Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD), www.international.gc.ca.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Famine Early Warning Systems Network, Washington, DC, USA

    C M McDonald

  2. Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    J McLean & T J Green

  3. Helen Keller International, Asia Pacific Regional Office, Phnom, Penh, Cambodia

    H Kroeun & A Talukder

  4. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    L D Lynd

Authors
  1. C M McDonald
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Correspondence to T J Green.

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McDonald, C., McLean, J., Kroeun, H. et al. Household food insecurity and dietary diversity as correlates of maternal and child undernutrition in rural Cambodia. Eur J Clin Nutr 69, 242–246 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2014.161

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2014.161

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