Associations of diet quality with dairy group membership, membership duration and non- membership for Kenyan farm women and children: a comparative study

Objective To examine associations among diet quality and dairy group membership, membership duration and non-member status for women and school-aged children in rural Kenya. Design A cross-sectional survey, using chain referral sampling, was conducted and diet quality indices and prevalence of inadequate intake (PII) were estimated using the estimated average requirement' cut-off point method from single 24 h recalls, using a Kenyan nutrient database. PII was compared among members and non-members and among membership-duration groups. Subjects Women and children of dairy group members (n 88), across membership-duration groups (1-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10+ years), and non-members (n 23) living among members. Setting Small farms in central Kenya. Results Members had higher energy, percentage of energy from animal-source foods and dietary diversity. Member women and children had lower PII for respectively seven and three of eleven micronutrients. Reduced PII for milk-source micronutrients was associated with membership duration for women. Many member women (38 %) had inadequate vitamin A intake and 39 % of member children had inadequate Zn intake. Members' PII was also high (>45 %) for Fe, Ca and vitamin B-12. A higher prevalence of being overweight among member women compared with non-member women suggested nutrition transition effects of higher farm productivity. Conclusions Dairy group membership was positively associated with adequate quantity and quality of diets for women and children. Long-term membership was insufficient to address micronutrient deficiencies. Understanding and addressing barriers to better diet quality and strategies to mitigate negative nutrition transition effects are needed to optimize nutritional outcomes of dairy group membership.