We utilized the most recent Demographic Health Survey data to explore the distribution of feeding practices and examine relationships between complementary feeding and socio-demographic and health behaviour indicators in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. We based our analysis on complementary dietary diversity scores calculated for children 6-23 months old. Geographically, Kenya displayed clear division of children’s diet diversity scores across its regions, unlike Uganda and Tanzania. Less than 40% of the children’s meal frequencies in Uganda and Tanzania had met the minimum daily recommended levels. Only 30-40% of children in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda had consumed diets with adequate diversity. Children’s age, breastfeeding status, mother’s education level and working status, household wealth index, prenatal care visits, receiving vitamin A supplements, using modern contraceptives and meal frequencies were significantly associated with adequate complementary food diversity in at least one of the three countries included in the current analyses. These analyses contribute to a better understanding and targeting of infant and young child feeding within the East African region.

Objective: To examine the contribution of selected child-, maternal- and household-related factors to child undernutrition across two different age groups of Kenyan under-5s.Design: Demographic and Health Survey data, multistage stratified cluster sampling methodology.Setting: Rural and urban areas of Kenya.Subjects: A total of 1851 children between the ages of 0 and 24 months and 1942 children between the ages of 25 and 59 months in Kenya.Results: Thirty per cent of the younger children were stunted, 13 % were underweight and 8 % were wasted. Forty per cent of the older children were stunted, 17 % were underweight and 4 % were wasted. Longer breast-feeding duration, small birth size, childhood diarrhoea and/or cough, poor maternal nutritional status and urban residence were associated with higher odds of at least one form of undernutrition, while female gender, large birth size, up-to-date immunization, higher maternal age at first birth, BMI and education level at the time of the survey and higher household wealth were each associated with lower odds of at least one form of undernutrition among Kenyan children. The more proximal child factors had the strongest impact on the younger group of children while the intermediate and more distal maternal and household factors had the strongest impact on child undernutrition among the older group of children.Conclusions: The present analysis identifies determinants of undernutrition among two age groups of Kenyan pre-school children and demonstrates that the contribution of child, maternal and household factors on children's nutritional status varies with children's age.

Provision of a snack at school could help alleviate the micronutrient malnutrition that is common among schoolchildren in developing countries. The Child Nutrition Project was designed to compare the efficacy of three school snacks in improving growth and cognitive function of children in rural Kenya. The snacks provided ∼20% of the children's energy requirement, and were composed of equicaloric portions of githeri (a vegetable stew) alone (Energy group), githeri plus milk (Milk group) or githeri plus meat (Meat group). A fourth group of children served as Controls. When nutrient intakes from three, 24-h dietary recalls collected before feeding were compared to three, 24-h recalls conducted after feeding began, intakes of vitamin B-12, riboflavin, vitamin A and calcium increased more in the Milk group than in the Control group, whereas intakes of vitamin B-12, vitamin A, calcium, available iron and available zinc increased more than those of Controls for children in the Meat group. At most of the time points examined, total energy intake increased more for the Meat group than for the other two feeding groups, because the additional energy provided by the Milk and Energy snacks was partially balanced by a decrease in the energy content of foods consumed at home. This decrease did not occur to the same extent for the Meat group, so both dietary quantity and dietary quality improved. For the Milk group, only dietary quality improved. For the Energy group, there were no significant changes in the total day's diet compared to the Control group.

With the exception of iodine and Fe, there is still very limited information on the effect of micronutrients on cognitive function, especially among school-age children. The present analysis evaluates the relationship between dietary Fe, Zn and B vitamins (B₁₂, B₆, folate and riboflavin) and gains in cognitive test scores among school children in rural Kenya. Data for the present study were obtained from The Child Nutrition Kenya Project, a 2-year longitudinal, randomised controlled feeding intervention study using animal source foods. Dietary nutrient values were based on monthly and bimonthly 24 h recall data collected during the study period. In longitudinal regression analyses, available Fe, available Zn, vitamin B₁₂ and riboflavin showed significant relationships with improved cognitive test scores, after controlling for confounders such as energy intake, school, socio-economic status and morbidity. Available Fe intake was associated with significantly higher gains in Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices test scores over time. Available Zn intake was associated with significantly higher gains in digit span-total test scores over time, while vitamin B₁₂ and riboflavin intakes were each associated with significantly higher gains in digit span-forward test scores over time. This analysis demonstrates the influence of improved dietary micronutrient status on school children's cognitive function.

Objective: To report on the prevalence of overweight and obesity among pre-school children in Kenya and examine the associations between childhood overweight and selected maternal and child-related factors.Design: Demographic Health Survey data, multistage stratified cluster sampling methodology.Setting: Rural and urban areas of Kenya.Subjects: A total of 1495 children between the ages of 3 and 5 years in Kenya.Results: Over 30 % of the children were stunted, approximately 16 % were underweight, 4 % were wasted, approximately 18 % were overweight and 4 % were obese; 8 % were both overweight/obese and stunted. Maternal overweight and obesity, higher levels of maternal education, being a large or very large child at birth, and being stunted were each associated with higher odds of overweight and obesity among Kenyan children. Older children and large household size were each associated with lower odds of overweight and obesity among Kenyan children.Conclusions: The analysis demonstrates the presence of under- and overnutrition among Kenyan pre-school children and the importance of focusing on expanding efforts to prevent and treat malnutrition within this population. It also identifies some of the modifiable factors that can be targeted in these efforts.