Dietary diversity and associated factors among preschool children in selected kindergarten school of Horo Guduru Wollega Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Preschool children are the most vulnerable group because of their high nutritional needs for growth and development. The study assessed dietary diversity scores and associated factors among preschool children in selected kindergarten schools of Horo Guduru Wollega Zone, Western Ethiopia. METHODS: The institutional-based cross-sectional study design was conducted on a total 440 of preschool children. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information on the dietary diversity score of preschool children using a 24 h dietary recall method. Binary logistic regression was used to identify variables associated with dietary diversity scores of preschool children. RESULTS: The result showed that the majority (87.3%) of preschool children in the selected kindergarten school practiced a low dietary diversity score (less than four food groups). The result obtained from multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the age of preschool children [AOR 9.58(2.26–40.60)], sex of child [AOR 3.21(1.71–5.99)], and work of mother [AOR 7.49(2.33–24.07)] were significantly (p < 0.05 associated) with dietary diversity of children. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicated that many preschool children in the study area did not get a minimum dietary diversity score. Therefore, health extension workers must organize community-based behavior change nutritional education for mothers or caregivers to create awareness of preschool child dietary diversity practices.