Exploring the relationship between food environment indicators and dietary intake of children 6–23 months old; findings from 20 low and lower-middle income countries

Abstract

Understanding food environments and how they shape dietary and nutrition outcomes is key to ensuring that food systems can support healthy and sustainable diets for the most vulnerable. Using subnational data from 20 low and lower-middle income countries, we explored how assortment, relative and absolute food prices relate to the dietary intake of children aged 6–23 months. We found that greater assortment of nutrient-dense foods in the market showed a positive association with dietary intake (foods rich in iron or vitamin A) of children 6–23 months of age at the subnational level. Higher relative price of nutrient-dense foods compared to starchy staples was negatively associated with intake of foods rich in iron or vitamin A and minimum dietary diversity. We also found negative association between minimum price of nutrient-dense foods and the same dietary intake indicators. This provides evidence on the degree to which assortment and the relative price of foods influence household food choices. The variability in assortment and price within countries highlights the importance of collecting information on food environments at the subnational level, as they determine which foods households can access, and by extension, how diverse and nutritious the diets of children aged 6–23 months in the household, can be.