Dietary intervention and growth of infants and toddlers in a Philippine rural community

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Abstract
A longitudinal, pretest‐posttest design using purposive sampling was employed to determine the effect of dietary intervention without environmental modifications on the nutritional status of 48 normal or mildly malnourished infants and toddlers in a rural Philippine community. The 24 experimental subjects were provided daily with food supplements so that their total diet met recommended dietary allowances. Data on physical growth, clinical signs of malnutrition, intestinal parasite infection, dietary intake and morbidity were collected. After a year, the experimental group which had a more adequate nutrient intake also had significantly higher weight‐for‐age, weight‐for*length, chest‐head ratio and arm circumference‐for‐age. Morbidity, however, did not decline significantly with improved dietary intake. The results suggest that an improved diet can prevent failure of normal growth common in the second year of life, even though sources of infection in the environment remain unchanged.