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Examining the association between livestock ownership typologies and child nutrition in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia.

ABSTRACT: Objective: To investigate the association between livestock ownership and dietary diversity, animal-source food consumption, height-for-age z-score, and stunting among children living in wildlife "buffer zones" of Zambia's Luangwa Valley using a novel livestock typology approach.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 838 children aged 6-36 months. Households were categorized into typologies based on the types and numbers of animals owned, ranging from no livestock to large numbers of mixed livestock. We used multilevel mixed-effects linear and logistic regression to examine the association between livestock typologies and four nutrition-related outcomes of interest. Results were compared with analyses using more common binary and count measures of livestock ownership.

Results: No measure of livestock ownership was significantly associated with children's odds of animal-source food consumption, child height-for-age z-score, or stunting odds. Livestock ownership Type 2 (having a small number of poultry) was surprisingly associated with decreased child dietary diversity (? = -0.477; p<0.01) relative to owning no livestock. Similarly, in comparison models, chicken ownership was negatively associated with dietary diversity (? = -0.320; p<0.01), but increasing numbers of chickens were positively associated with dietary diversity (? = 0.022; p<0.01). Notably, neither child dietary diversity nor animal-source food consumption was significantly associated with height, perhaps due to unusually high prevalences of morbidities.

Conclusions: Our novel typologies methodology allowed for an efficient and a more in-depth examination of the differential impact of livestock ownership patterns compared to typical binary or count measures of livestock ownership. We found that these patterns were not positively associated with child nutrition outcomes in this context. Development and conservation programs focusing on livestock must carefully consider the complex, context-specific relationship between livestock ownership and nutrition outcomes-including how livestock are utilized by the target population-when attempting to use livestock as a means of improving child nutrition.

SUBMITTER: Dumas SE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5800575 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Examining the association between livestock ownership typologies and child nutrition in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia.

Dumas Sarah E SE Kassa Lea L Young Sera L SL Travis Alexander J AJ

PloS one 20180206 2

<h4>Objective</h4>To investigate the association between livestock ownership and dietary diversity, animal-source food consumption, height-for-age z-score, and stunting among children living in wildlife "buffer zones" of Zambia's Luangwa Valley using a novel livestock typology approach.<h4>Methods</h4>We conducted a cross-sectional study of 838 children aged 6-36 months. Households were categorized into typologies based on the types and numbers of animals owned, ranging from no livestock to larg ...[more]

PMID: 29408920

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Project description:Livestock production may improve nutritional outcomes of pregnant women and children by increasing household income, availability of nutrient-dense foods, and women's empowerment. Nevertheless, the relationship is complex, and the nutritional status of children may be impaired by presence of or proximity to livestock and their pathogens. In this paper, we review the benefits and risks of livestock production on child nutrition. Evidence supports the nutritional benefits of livestock farming through income, production, and women's empowerment. Increasing animal source food consumption requires a combination of efforts, including improved animal management so that herd size is adequate to meet household income needs and consumption and addressing sociocultural and gendered norms. Evidence supports the inclusion of behavior change communication strategies into livestock production interventions to facilitate the sustainability of nutritional benefits over time, particularly interventions that engage women and foster dimensions of women's empowerment. In evaluating the risks of livestock production, evidence indicates that a broad range of enteric pathogens may chronically infect the intestines of children and, in combination with dietary deficits, may cause environmental enteric dysfunction (EED), a chronic inflammation of the gut. Some of the most important pathogens associated with EED are zoonotic in nature with livestock as their main reservoir. Very few studies have aimed to understand which livestock species contribute most to colonization with these pathogens, or how to reduce transmission. Control at the point of exposure has been investigated in a few studies, but much less effort has been spent on improving animal husbandry practices, which may have additional benefits. There is an urgent need for dedicated and long-term research to understand which livestock species contribute most to exposure of young children to zoonotic enteric pathogens, to test the potential of a wide range of intervention methods, to assess their effectiveness in randomized trials, and to assure their broad adaptation and sustainability. This review highlights the benefits and risks of livestock production on child nutrition. In addition to identifying research gaps, findings support inclusion of poor gut health as an immediate determinant of child undernutrition, expanding the established UNICEF framework which includes only inadequate diet and disease.

Dataset Information

Examining the association between livestock ownership typologies and child nutrition in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia.

Publications

Examining the association between livestock ownership typologies and child nutrition in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia.

Similar Datasets

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