title: Dietary diversification for prevention of anaemia among women of childbearing age from rural India.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the impact of an intervention modifying dietary habits for the prevention of anaemia in rural India.
  
  
  METHODS
  Intervention study with data on anthropometric (weight, height) measurements, Hb and diet pattern. As per the cut-off for Hb in the government programme, women with Hb <11 g/dl had to be given Fe tablets and formed the supplemented group while those with Hb > 11 g/dl formed the non-supplemented group. Settings Three villages near Pune city, Maharashtra, India.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rural non-pregnant women (n 317) of childbearing age (15-35 years).
  
  
  RESULTS
  After 1 year of intervention, mean Hb increased (from 10.94 (sd 1.22) g/dl to 11.59 (sd 1.11) g/dl) significantly (P < 0.01) with a consequent reduction in the prevalence of anaemia (from 82.0% to 55.4%) as well as Fe-deficiency anaemia (from 30.3% to 10.8%). Gain in Hb was inversely associated with the initial level of Hb. Significant gain in Hb (0.57 g/dl) was observed among women attending >50% of the meetings or repeating >50% of the recipes at home (0.45 g/dl) in the non-supplemented group and was smaller than that observed in the supplemented group. Consumption of green leafy vegetables more than twice weekly increased substantially from 44.7% to 60.6%, as did consumption of seasonal fruits. Logistic regression showed that women with lower participation in the intervention had three times higher risk (OR = 3.08; 95% CI 1.04, 9.13; P = 0.04) for no gain in Hb compared with those having high participation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Developing action programmes for improving nutritional awareness to enhance the consumption of Fe-rich foods has great potential for preventing anaemia in rural India.
authors.affiliation: Biometry & Nutrition Unit, Agharkar Research Institute, GG Agarkar Road, Pune 411030, India.
authors.forename: Shobha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.affiliation: Biometry & Nutrition Unit, Agharkar Research Institute, GG Agarkar Road, Pune 411030, India.
authors.forename: Smita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.affiliation: Biometry & Nutrition Unit, Agharkar Research Institute, GG Agarkar Road, Pune 411030, India.
authors.forename: Pradnya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bhide
authors.affiliation: Biometry & Nutrition Unit, Agharkar Research Institute, GG Agarkar Road, Pune 411030, India.
authors.forename: Bhairavi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Puranik
authors.affiliation: Biometry & Nutrition Unit, Agharkar Research Institute, GG Agarkar Road, Pune 411030, India.
authors.forename: Kanade
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asawari
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004032:Diet; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005638:Fruit; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D019266:Iron, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016015:Logistic Models; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014675:Vegetables; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins; D019266:Iron, Dietary