ArticlePloS one2025
Prevalence and determinants of unhealthy feeding practices among young children aged 6-23 months in five sub-Saharan African countries.
Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Association of feeding and parenting styles with adiposity in young children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of pediatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Associations between dietary patterns and adequate intake of climate-sensitive micronutrients among young children living in Siaya County, Kenya: Findings from the ALIMUS study baseline data.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2026Trial
- Unhealthy feeding practices in early childhood: prevalence and associated factors in Bangladesh.BMJ paediatrics open · 2026Article
- Do children's feeding practices affect growth outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa? A multi-country study.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2026Article
- Prevalence and Determinants of Unhealthy Food and Beverage Consumption Among Children Aged 6-23 Months in Mekelle, Northern Ethiopia.Food science & nutrition · 2025Article
- Unhealthy food consumption and its determinants among children aged 6-23 months in Bangladesh: insights from the Demographic and Health Survey 2022.BMC public health · 2025Article
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10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionDespite the World Health Organization's advice against unhealthy feeding, many low- and middle-income countries, including sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries, are experiencing a nutritional transition to high in sugar, unhealthy fats, salts, and processed carbohydrates for younger children. However, there is a scarcity of recently updated multicounty information on unhealthy feeding practices and determinants in SSA countries. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the pooled prevalence of unhealthy feeding practices and determinants among children aged 6-23 months in five SSA countries.
methodA cross-sectional study design was employed with the most recent demographic and health survey secondary data (DHS) from five SSA countries. This secondary data was accessed from the DHS portal through an online request. The DHS is the global data collection initiative that provides detailed and high-quality data on population demographics, health, and nutrition in low- and middle-income countries. We used a weighted sample of 14,064 children aged 6-23 months. A multilevel mixed-effect binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify significant factors associated with unhealthy feeding practices. The level of statistical significance was declared with p-value < 0.05.
resultThis study found that overall, 62.4% (95% CI: 61.62-63.17) of children aged 6-23 months in five SSA countries had unhealthy feeding practices. Rural residents, lower-middle-income SSA countries, and children aged above 12 months had lower odds of unhealthy feeding practices. On the other hand, richer households and women who had not had an optimal antenatal care visit had higher odds of unhealthy feeding practices.
conclusionAccording to this study, nearly two out of three young children in five SSA countries had unhealthy feeding practices. Both individual and community-level factors are significantly associated with unhealthy feeding practices. As a result, responsible bodies shall make all efforts to reduce unhealthy feeding practices among young children in SSA countries.
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