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Current Evidence for Nutrition Intervention: A Meta-analysis

Received: 8 April 2021    Accepted: 31 May 2021    Published: 7 June 2021
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Abstract

Although different combinations of nutrition interventions are employed, most are insufficient to reduce stunting significantly. This study aimed to draw current evidence to reduce stunting among under 5 years children from randomized controlled trials. Eligible randomized controlled trials met inclusion criteria were included. The weighted mean effect sizes with 95% CIs were used as summary measures for changes in height-for-age z score (HAZ) using random-effect models; heterogeneity was analyzed using predefined characteristics. From the total of 116 articles, 47 randomized controlled trials with a sample size of 35,115 study participants were included for analysis. Except for educational intervention (0.14; 95%CI: 0.00, 0.27), the weighted mean effects of iron, zinc, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), multiple micronutrients (MMN) and dietary interventions were all insignificant. A fixed combination of nutrition interventions demonstrating similar benefit in all contexts is not found. Our results are insufficient to make a recommendation on the most appropriate interventions to reduce stunting in all settings. This result highlights the importance of further evidence before nutrition component formulation for large-scale interventions. The short duration of the interventions and lack of information about the infection status of participants in most of the included trials remain two of the possible limitations needing consideration.

Published in Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences (Volume 9, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.jfns.20210903.12
Page(s) 73-83
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Evidence, Iron, Meta-analysis, Nutrition Education, Sanitation, Stunting, Zinc

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  • APA Style

    Zelalem Tafese, Yifru Berhan. (2021). Current Evidence for Nutrition Intervention: A Meta-analysis. Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences, 9(3), 73-83. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20210903.12

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    ACS Style

    Zelalem Tafese; Yifru Berhan. Current Evidence for Nutrition Intervention: A Meta-analysis. J. Food Nutr. Sci. 2021, 9(3), 73-83. doi: 10.11648/j.jfns.20210903.12

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    AMA Style

    Zelalem Tafese, Yifru Berhan. Current Evidence for Nutrition Intervention: A Meta-analysis. J Food Nutr Sci. 2021;9(3):73-83. doi: 10.11648/j.jfns.20210903.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jfns.20210903.12,
      author = {Zelalem Tafese and Yifru Berhan},
      title = {Current Evidence for Nutrition Intervention: A Meta-analysis},
      journal = {Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences},
      volume = {9},
      number = {3},
      pages = {73-83},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jfns.20210903.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20210903.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jfns.20210903.12},
      abstract = {Although different combinations of nutrition interventions are employed, most are insufficient to reduce stunting significantly. This study aimed to draw current evidence to reduce stunting among under 5 years children from randomized controlled trials. Eligible randomized controlled trials met inclusion criteria were included. The weighted mean effect sizes with 95% CIs were used as summary measures for changes in height-for-age z score (HAZ) using random-effect models; heterogeneity was analyzed using predefined characteristics. From the total of 116 articles, 47 randomized controlled trials with a sample size of 35,115 study participants were included for analysis. Except for educational intervention (0.14; 95%CI: 0.00, 0.27), the weighted mean effects of iron, zinc, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), multiple micronutrients (MMN) and dietary interventions were all insignificant. A fixed combination of nutrition interventions demonstrating similar benefit in all contexts is not found. Our results are insufficient to make a recommendation on the most appropriate interventions to reduce stunting in all settings. This result highlights the importance of further evidence before nutrition component formulation for large-scale interventions. The short duration of the interventions and lack of information about the infection status of participants in most of the included trials remain two of the possible limitations needing consideration.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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    T1  - Current Evidence for Nutrition Intervention: A Meta-analysis
    AU  - Zelalem Tafese
    AU  - Yifru Berhan
    Y1  - 2021/06/07
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.jfns.20210903.12
    T2  - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences
    JF  - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences
    JO  - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20210903.12
    AB  - Although different combinations of nutrition interventions are employed, most are insufficient to reduce stunting significantly. This study aimed to draw current evidence to reduce stunting among under 5 years children from randomized controlled trials. Eligible randomized controlled trials met inclusion criteria were included. The weighted mean effect sizes with 95% CIs were used as summary measures for changes in height-for-age z score (HAZ) using random-effect models; heterogeneity was analyzed using predefined characteristics. From the total of 116 articles, 47 randomized controlled trials with a sample size of 35,115 study participants were included for analysis. Except for educational intervention (0.14; 95%CI: 0.00, 0.27), the weighted mean effects of iron, zinc, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), multiple micronutrients (MMN) and dietary interventions were all insignificant. A fixed combination of nutrition interventions demonstrating similar benefit in all contexts is not found. Our results are insufficient to make a recommendation on the most appropriate interventions to reduce stunting in all settings. This result highlights the importance of further evidence before nutrition component formulation for large-scale interventions. The short duration of the interventions and lack of information about the infection status of participants in most of the included trials remain two of the possible limitations needing consideration.
    VL  - 9
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Author Information
  • School of Nutrition, Food Science and Technology, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia

  • Consultant at St. Paul's Hospital, Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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