Microbiota Directed Food for Children With Moderate Acute Malnutrition
Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) refers to a condition characterized by a significant deficit in weight-for-length measurements in children aged 6 to 59 months. It is a crucial public health concern with detrimental effects on child growth, development, and overall well-being. Addressing MAM is crucial to prevent its progression to severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and to ensure healthy child development. To meet the nutritional requirement of MAM children, icddr,b have come up with a novel intervention named microbiota-directed food (MDF), a ready-to-use supplementary food.we propose this efficacy trial to establish the evidence on the effect of this novel intervention on ponderal growth, microbial and proteomic recovery among the children with MAM in comparison to the standard RUSF.
- EligibilityCriteria: Inclusion Criteria:  Parent(s) willing to sign consent form Children aged 6-24 months WLZ score <-2 to ≥-3 and/or MUAC ≥115 mm to <125 mm without bilateral pedal edema at the time of randomization  Exclusion Criteria:  Medical conditions: Malnourished children with complications requiring acute phase treatment in a hospital, children with tuberculosis or any chronic illness(es). Any congenital/acquired disorder affecting growth, i.e., known case of trisomy-21 or cerebral palsy; children on an exclusion diet for the treatment of persistent diarrhea; having known history of soy, peanut or milk protein allergy Severe anaemia (< 8 gm/dl) Antibiotic use (within last 7 days before the onset of intervention) Receiving concurrent treatment for another condition children participating in other food intervention program - HealthyVolunteers: No - Gender: All - MinimumAge: 6 Months - MaximumAge: 24 Months - StdAgeList: Child