Development and Health of Rural Chinese Children Fed Meat as a Daily Complementary Food From 6-18 Mos of Age

Study Summary

Inadequate feeding of infants and toddlers impairs physical and cognitive development and is a major contributor to early childhood infectious disease illnesses and preventable mortality. Optimal feeding has two broad components: Exclusive breast feeding (EBF) for the first-6 months followed by continued breast feeding accompanied by complementary foods (CF) that is adequate in quantity and quality. While EBF is theoretically straightforward, CF is more complex. This is because CF is typically limited mainly or entirely to plant-based foods in developing countries worldwide. Dependence on adequate, affordable locally-produced foods for complete CF requires an inexpensive, regular source of meat especially to provide 'problem' micronutrients, notably, but not only, zinc and bioavailable iron. While the use of micronutrient-fortified CF and of supplements, including SprinklesTM, is spreading, their efficacy largely remains uncertain as does their availability, particularly on a sustainable, affordable basis Achievement of the widespread regular use of meat as a CF requires: (1) adequate local production of affordable small scavenging/foraging animals in poor rural and, where feasible, periurban communities worldwide; (2) effective communication for behavioral change/education so that young children, starting at age 6 months (when meat is readily accepted by infants), receive priority in the use of this meat. Solid scientific evidence of the value of international/national programs to achieve this goal is essential to provide the basis and incentive for major international and national programs to promote the feeding of meat as an early and regular CF. The acquisition of such evidence is the goal of this study The intervention to be evaluated is meat fed daily as a complementary food from age 6-18 months. Thirty infants-toddlers in each of 60 rural communities (total of 1,800 subjects) will participate. In a cluster design, twenty communities (test) will be randomized

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• OTHER Meat
• OTHER Cereal
• OTHER fortified rice cereal

Study Locations (1)