A Low-Diet Diversity Score Is Associated With Increased Risk of Growth Failure Among Children

Abstract

This cross-sectional study assessed the association between dietary diversity score and risk of growth failure among 605 Iranian children aged 7 to 12 years. Dietary intake was evaluated by a validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire and dietary diversity score was calculated for each participant. Weight and height of children were measured and anthropometric indices including underweight, stunting, and thinness were assessed. The probability of having underweight (P for trend = .001) and stunting (P for trend <.0001) reduced with enhancing quartile of dietary diversity score. The highly varied diets may be useful in preventing growth failure in children.