ArticleMaternal & child nutrition2020
Dietary diversity and food intake of urban preschool children in North-Western Sri Lanka.
Article in Maternal & child nutrition, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- A 6-week healthy eating intervention with family engagement improves food knowledge and preferences but not dietary diversity among urban preschool children in Sri Lanka.Public health nutrition · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Pica, avoidant restrictive food intake disorder and rumination disorder in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Review
- Psychometric Evaluation of the Persian Version of Adult Food Preferences Questionnaire (FPQ-Adult).Current developments in nutrition · 2026Article
- The double burden of malnutrition: coexistence of stunted children and overweight and obese mothers in Sri Lanka.Public health nutrition · 2026Article
- Diets, Fruit and Vegetable Intake, and Nutritional Status in Sri Lanka: A Scoping Review.Maternal & child nutrition · 2026Article
- Drivers of dietary diversity among families with children under five years in Egypt: a secondary analysis of the household income, expenditure and consumption survey.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Household food insecurity, dietary diversity with undernutrition among children younger than five years in Indian subcontinent-a narrative review.The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia · 2024Review
- Maternal and household factors affecting the dietary diversity of preschool children in eastern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Dietary diversity and associated factors among children aged 6-23 months attending a public health hospital in Awi zone, Ethiopia, 2023.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Article
- Article
- Identifying positive and negative deviants and factors associated with healthy dietary practices among young schoolchildren in Nepal: a mixed methods study.BMC nutrition · 2023Article
- Asia-Pacific consensus statement on integrated 24-hour activity guidelines for the early years.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2023Review
- Dietary Diversity, Household Food Insecurity and Stunting among Children Aged 12 to 59 Months in N'Djamena-Chad.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Health Status and Nutritional Habits in Maldives Pediatric Population: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Effect of community-based nutritional education on dietary diversity and consumption of animal-source foods among rural preschool-aged children in the Ilu Abba Bor zone of southwest Ethiopia: Quasi-experimental study.Maternal & child nutrition · 2022Article
- Eating Patterns in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Association between Dietary Diversity and Weight Status of Aboriginal Primary School Children in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.The Malaysian journal of medical sciences : MJMS · 2022Article
- Effectiveness and acceptability of a novel school-based healthy eating program among primary school children in urban Sri Lanka.BMC public health · 2021Article
- A self-applied valid scale for rapid tracking of household food insecurity among pregnant women in Sri Lanka.Maternal & child nutrition · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Childhood malnutrition, associated with poor diet, is a clear public health threat in Sri Lanka, with high rates of under-nutrition and micronutrient deficiencies coupled with the growing risk of overweight/obesity in urban locations. This study explored the dietary diversity and food intake of urban living Sri Lankan preschool children. A cross-sectional analysis of the baseline data from a cohort study was conducted with parents/caregivers of children aged 2-6 years, from 21 preschool centres in Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka. Demographic and socio-economic factors, dietary diversity score (DDS) (n = 597) and food intake (n = 458) (using a food frequency questionnaire) were assessed. Children had a mean DDS of 4.56 ± 0·85 out of 9, with most (91.1%) in the medium DDS category (DDS of 3.1-6.0), consuming rice as most common food. Lentils were consumed more than any meat or alternative food groups at all DDS levels. Child DDS differs with parent/caregiver age and ethnicity. Mean daily intakes of fruit (1.02) and vegetables (0.84) servings align with approximately half of national recommendations, with less than 20% of children meeting daily recommendations. More than one-third consumed sugary snacks and confectionaries daily and 1 in 10 had them twice a day. Around 40% reported watching television while eating the evening meal. Despite the majority having reasonable DDSs (medium category), findings highlighted inadequate intakes of fruits and vegetables, excessive intakes of sugary snacks and unhealthy dietary and social behaviours, suggests the need for population-based interventions to promote healthier dietary habits.
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