Nita Bhandari|Sarmila Mazumder|Rajiv Bahl|José Martines|Robert E. Black|M. K. Bhan
An Educational Intervention to Promote Appropriate Complementary Feeding Practices and Physical Growth in Infants and Young Children in Rural Haryana, India
All India Institute of Medical Sciences
complementary feeding practices often inadequate developing countries resulting significant nutritional decline 6 18 mo age assessed effectiveness educational intervention promote adequate complementary feeding practices would feasible sustain existing resources study cluster randomized controlled trial communities state haryana india developed intervention formative research eight communities pair matched baseline characteristics one pair randomly assigned receive intervention specific feeding intervention health nutrition workers intervention communities trained counsel locally developed feeding recommendations newborns enrolled communities 552 intervention 473 control followed every 3 mo age 18 mo main outcome measures weights lengths 6 9 12 18 mo complementary feeding practices 9 18 mo analyses intent treat overall analyses small significant effect length gain intervention group difference means 032 cm 95 ci 003 061 effect greater subgroup male infants difference mean length gain 051 cm 95 ci 003 098 weight gain affected energy intakes complementary foods overall significantly higher intervention group children 9 mo mean sd 1556 1109 vs 1025 866 kj p 0001 18 mo 3807 1527 vs 2577 1058 kj p 0001 improving complementary feeding practices existing services feasible effect physical growth limited factors limit physical growth settings must better understood plan effective nutrition programs