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Effectiveness of agricultural interventions that aim to improve nutritional status of children: systematic review

Objective To assess the effectiveness of agricultural interventions in improving the nutritional status of children in developing countries. Design Systematic review. Data sources Published and unpublished reports (after 1990) in English identified by searching 10 databases (Agris, Econlit, Eldis, I...

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Autores principales: Masset, Edoardo, Haddad, Lawrence, Cornelius, Alexander, Isaza-Castro, Jairo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3259800/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22251864
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d8222
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author Masset, Edoardo
Haddad, Lawrence
Cornelius, Alexander
Isaza-Castro, Jairo
author_facet Masset, Edoardo
Haddad, Lawrence
Cornelius, Alexander
Isaza-Castro, Jairo
author_sort Masset, Edoardo
collection PubMed
description Objective To assess the effectiveness of agricultural interventions in improving the nutritional status of children in developing countries. Design Systematic review. Data sources Published and unpublished reports (after 1990) in English identified by searching 10 databases (Agris, Econlit, Eldis, IBSS, IDEAS, IFPRI, Jolis, PubMed, Web of Science, and World Bank), websites, previous systematic reviews, and reference lists and by contacting experts. Study selection Included studies assessed effects of agricultural interventions aiming at improving the nutritional status of children (bio-fortification, home gardens, small scale fisheries and aquaculture, dairy development, and animal husbandry and poultry development). Only studies that used a valid counterfactual analysis were included. Before/after studies and participants/non-participants comparisons affected by selection bias were excluded. Data analysis Results were analysed for four intermediate outcomes (programme participation, income, dietary diversity, and micronutrient intake) and one final outcome (prevalence of under-nutrition). Analysis was by summary tables of mean effects and by meta-analysis (for vitamin A absorption). Results The review included 23 studies, mostly evaluating home garden interventions. The studies reviewed did not report participation rates or the characteristics of participants in programmes. The interventions had a positive effect on the production of the agricultural goods promoted, but not on households’ total income. The interventions were successful in promoting the consumption of food rich in protein and micronutrients, but the effect on the overall diet of poor people remains unclear. No evidence was found of an effect on the absorption of iron, but some evidence exists of a positive effect on absorption of vitamin A. Very little evidence was found of a positive effect on the prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight among children aged under 5. Conclusions The question posed by the review cannot be answered with any level of confidence. The data available show a poor effect of these interventions on nutritional status, but methodological weaknesses of the studies cast serious doubts on the validity of these results. More rigorous and better designed studies are needed, as well as the establishment of agreed quality standards to guide researchers in this important area.
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spelling pubmed-32598002012-01-17 Effectiveness of agricultural interventions that aim to improve nutritional status of children: systematic review Masset, Edoardo Haddad, Lawrence Cornelius, Alexander Isaza-Castro, Jairo BMJ Research Objective To assess the effectiveness of agricultural interventions in improving the nutritional status of children in developing countries. Design Systematic review. Data sources Published and unpublished reports (after 1990) in English identified by searching 10 databases (Agris, Econlit, Eldis, IBSS, IDEAS, IFPRI, Jolis, PubMed, Web of Science, and World Bank), websites, previous systematic reviews, and reference lists and by contacting experts. Study selection Included studies assessed effects of agricultural interventions aiming at improving the nutritional status of children (bio-fortification, home gardens, small scale fisheries and aquaculture, dairy development, and animal husbandry and poultry development). Only studies that used a valid counterfactual analysis were included. Before/after studies and participants/non-participants comparisons affected by selection bias were excluded. Data analysis Results were analysed for four intermediate outcomes (programme participation, income, dietary diversity, and micronutrient intake) and one final outcome (prevalence of under-nutrition). Analysis was by summary tables of mean effects and by meta-analysis (for vitamin A absorption). Results The review included 23 studies, mostly evaluating home garden interventions. The studies reviewed did not report participation rates or the characteristics of participants in programmes. The interventions had a positive effect on the production of the agricultural goods promoted, but not on households’ total income. The interventions were successful in promoting the consumption of food rich in protein and micronutrients, but the effect on the overall diet of poor people remains unclear. No evidence was found of an effect on the absorption of iron, but some evidence exists of a positive effect on absorption of vitamin A. Very little evidence was found of a positive effect on the prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight among children aged under 5. Conclusions The question posed by the review cannot be answered with any level of confidence. The data available show a poor effect of these interventions on nutritional status, but methodological weaknesses of the studies cast serious doubts on the validity of these results. More rigorous and better designed studies are needed, as well as the establishment of agreed quality standards to guide researchers in this important area. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. 2012-01-17 /pmc/articles/PMC3259800/ /pubmed/22251864 http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d8222 Text en © Masset et al 2012 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non commercial and is otherwise in compliance with the license. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ and http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode.
spellingShingle Research
Masset, Edoardo
Haddad, Lawrence
Cornelius, Alexander
Isaza-Castro, Jairo
Effectiveness of agricultural interventions that aim to improve nutritional status of children: systematic review
title Effectiveness of agricultural interventions that aim to improve nutritional status of children: systematic review
title_full Effectiveness of agricultural interventions that aim to improve nutritional status of children: systematic review
title_fullStr Effectiveness of agricultural interventions that aim to improve nutritional status of children: systematic review
title_full_unstemmed Effectiveness of agricultural interventions that aim to improve nutritional status of children: systematic review
title_short Effectiveness of agricultural interventions that aim to improve nutritional status of children: systematic review
title_sort effectiveness of agricultural interventions that aim to improve nutritional status of children: systematic review
topic Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3259800/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22251864
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d8222
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