Association between Diet Quality and Health Outcomes among Children in Rural Areas of Northwest China

Wanni Yang, Shaoping Li, Yuhe Guo, Yunli Bai and Chengfang Liu
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Wanni Yang: China Center for Agricultural Policy, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, No. 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871, China
Shaoping Li: School of Economics and Management, Huzhou University, No. 759 Erhuandong Road, Huzhou 313000, China
Yuhe Guo: China Center for Agricultural Policy, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, No. 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871, China
Yunli Bai: Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 11A Datun Road, Beijing 100101, China
Chengfang Liu: China Center for Agricultural Policy, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, No. 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-11

Abstract: This study aims to examine the relationship between diet quality and health outcomes among children in rural remote areas of China. We draw on a cross-sectional dataset of 1216 children from two counties in the Gansu Province in Northwest China. Child health outcomes were assessed with both anthropometric measurements and reports by primary caregivers of the children. Child diet quality was assessed with the diet quality score (DQS) using information from a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Our data show the prevalence of stunting and underweight among sample children were 12% and 11%, respectively; 27% of children were reported by their caregivers as unhealthy, and 60% of children had at least one of the seventeen selected non-communicable diseases (NCDs) over the past 14 days. Overall, 780 (72%) children have at least one of the four above-mentioned health problems. Results from logistic regression models show that a higher DQS was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of being stunted and a higher likelihood of being reported healthy after adjusting for confounders. These findings imply that improving child diet quality might be an option when designing interventions to improve child health.

Keywords: diet quality; health outcomes; children; primary caregivers; rural remote areas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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