Correlation of Dietary Diversity and Infant Micronutrient Intake and Growth

Objective To validate the utility of dietary diversity scores(DDS) and food diversity scores(FVS) in evaluating the nutritional quality of an infant′s diet.Methods Singlet,normal birth weight,and healthy 12 months old infants were recruited.Infant feeding information was obtained from the parents and(or) caregivers.Anthropometric measurements were obtained the same day.DDS was constructed using the frequency of feedings,as well as types of foods provided to the infant in the past month;FVS was constructed using the types of foods consumed in the past week.Nutritional intake data was obtained from 3-day diet records,then analyzed by using Nutrition Data System for Research(NDSR).Results A total of 236 infants were included in this study.Their length-for-age Z score(LAZ),weight-for-age Z score(WAZ),and weight-for-length Z score(WLZ) were 0.44±0.88,0.78±0.81,0.79±0.83,respectively.Nutrient for adequacy ratio(NAR) was calculated by using dietary intake and WHO recommended intake.The NAR(%) of energy,protein and the majority of micronutrients exceeded 100%.Compared with infants with low FVS,DDS and DDS+FVS scores,the WAZ,WLZ,LAZ were higher in infants with high scores,but not statistically significant.FVS and DDS were positively associated with the NAR(%) of multiple micronutrients.FVS+DDS was positively associated with the NAR(%) of almost all micronutrients.The NAR(%) of most micronutrients were positively associa-ted with WAZ,WLZ and LAZ.Conclusions DDS and FVS are very effective tools that can be used to evaluate the quality of an infant′s diet.DDS+FVS may be more effective.Increasing an infant′s dietary diversity will improve their micronutrient intake and promote growth.