title: Household dietary diversity and Animal Source Food consumption in Ethiopia: evidence from the 2011 Welfare Monitoring Survey.
abstract: It is imperative to track dietary quality and progress in nutritional outcomes in a population to develop timely interventions. Dietary diversity is a commonly used proxy to assess dietary quality in low-income countries. This study identified predictors of household dietary diversity in Ethiopia and pattern of consumption of animal source food (ASF) among households.
  
  
  
  Secondary data were analyzed from the 2011 Ethiopian Welfare Monitoring Survey (WMS). This survey used a structured questionnaire to collect socio-demographic and economic data. Dietary data were collected using a dietary diversity questionnaire measuring dietary diversity over the past 1 week. A Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) was constructed according to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) guidelines. Consumption of ASFs is described by its distribution among the regions and by HDDS. Multiple logistic regression analysis was fitted to identify independent predictors for HDDS.
  
  
  
  A total of 27,995 households were included in the analyses. A little over half of the study households (52.2%) had more than four household members, and 75% of households were male headed. The mean HHDS was five food groups. Cereals were the most commonly (96%) consumed food groups. Fish, egg and fruits, on the other hand, were the least consumed food groups. ASFs were consumed in greater proportion among households with higher HDDS. Being part of the higher and middle socio economic strata (P < 0.001), literacy (P < 0.01), urban residence (P < 0.01), male headed household (P < 0.01), larger family size (P <0.01) and owning livestock (P < 0.01) were positively associated with higher HDDS.
  
  
  
  Considering these findings, nutrition sensitive interventions which address the problem through economic and educational empowerment and modern technologies supporting agricultural practices need to be designed to increase both local production and increased consumption.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Jimma University College of Health Sciences, Jimma, Ethiopia. abdulhalikw@gmail.com.|Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, Ghent, B 9000, Belgium. abdulhalikw@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Abdulhalik
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Workicho
authors.affiliation: Department of Population and Family Health, Jimma University College of Health Sciences, Jimma, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Tefera
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Belachew
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Education and Behavioral Sciences, Jimma University College of Health Sciences, Jimma, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Garumma Tolu
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Feyissa
authors.affiliation: Department of Population and Family Health, Jimma University College of Health Sciences, Jimma, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Beyene
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wondafrash
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, Ghent, B 9000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lachat
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Child Health Unit, Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, Antwerp, 2000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Roosmarijn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Verstraeten
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, Ghent, B 9000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kolsteren
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008460:Meat; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty; D012424:Rural Population; D012946:Social Welfare; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Animal Source Food consumption; Ethiopia; Household dietary diversity