Abstract
Introduction
Minimum meal frequency (MMF), a proxy indicator to examine a child’s energy requirements, focuses on the number of times children receive foods apart from breast milk and breastfeeding by child’s age. This study describes the MMF among children aged 6-23 months and its distribution across additional key characteristics of the children and their mothers.
Methods
A secondary data analysis of the Cambodia Demographic Health Survey (CDHS) 2014 among 2,201 children aged 6- 23 months was performed. Descriptive analysis and MMF distribution across child and mother’s characteristics were conducted using STATA V 14.
Results
Overall, a higher proportion of boys (71.4%). than girls (68.0%) met the required MMF. Children who met the required MMF were living in urban rather than rural areas (82.6% and 69.0%). A higher proportion of children (76.0%) whose mothers worked in non-agriculture met the required MMF than children (70.1%) with mothers working in the agriculture sector. Finally, the higher the number of children the HH had (? 4 children), the lower the children met the MMF requirement.
Conclusions
Meeting required MMF for children aged 6-23 months remains a concern in Cambodia. This requires further actions, including both nutrition-specific and sensitive interventions particularly focused on rural areas and families with more children.