TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose– Measures of dietary diversity are relatively simple and associated with nutrient adequacy and nutritional status. The aim of this study is to validate dietary diversity score (DDS) as an indicator of nutrient adequacy of diet of Indian rural children aged five to eight years.Design/methodology/approach– A cross‐sectional survey among 232 children (five to eight years) was conducted using a 24 h recall. Food variety score (FVS) and DDSs were calculated. Probability of adequacies of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron and zinc, and mean probability of adequacy was used to assess nutrient adequacy. To determine associations between dietary diversity and nutrient adequacy, nutrient adequacy and socio‐economic status (SES), partial rank correlations were conducted.Findings– Vitamin C and iron had the lowest probability of adequacy (PA) while vitamin A and zinc had the highest PA. Mean probability of adequate micronutrient intake (MPA) across five micronutrients was 40 percent. Mean DDS was 6.5 and mean FVS was 12.2. DDS was significantly correlated (p < 0.01) with PA vitamin A (r = 0.17), PA vitamin C (r = 0.36) and mean MPA (r = 0.21). Correlations for FVS were significant and stronger than those of DDS with all micronutrients. Adjustments for SES indicators did not further change the correlations. The best DDS cut‐off point for nutritionally adequate diet with MPA of 75 percent was between six and seven food groups.Originality/value– DDS and FVS can be useful tools to give a good indication of nutritional adequacy of diet in resource‐poor settings. Additionally, a DDS between six and seven should suffice to identify subjects with a nutritionally adequate diet with MPA of 75 percent with optimal sensitivity and specificity.
VL  - 40
IS  - 5
SN  - 0034-6659
DO  - 10.1108/00346651011076974
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/00346651011076974
AU  - Rani Varsha
AU  - Arends Denisse E.
AU  - Brouwer Inge D.
ED  - Mabel Blades
PY  - 2010
Y1  - 2010/01/01
TI  - Dietary diversity as an indicator of micronutrient adequacy of the diet of five to eight year old Indian rural children
T2  - Nutrition & Food Science
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 466
EP  - 476
Y2  - 2024/04/19
ER  -