Effect of counselling about complementary food flour soaking on nutritional and health status of children 6-23 months, a quasi- experimental study

Background: Strategies for achieving improved nutrition in young children in developing countries where plant-based complementary foods are the main source of nutrients can address the challenge of meeting nutritional needs from these foods. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the effect of counseling about complementary food flour soaking on nutritional and health status of children 6-23 months. Methods: A total of 726 mother-child pairs (intervention n = 363 and control n = 363) were enrolled in this study. Participants in the intervention district received personalized nutritional counseling for six months. Interviewer-administered questionnaires and anthropometric measurements were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using SPSS. The difference in difference regression analysis and the Poisson regression analyses were used to estimate the effect of the interventions on anthropometric Zscore and incidence of disease episodes, respectively. Mean differences and Incidence Rate Ratio were computed as a measure of intervention effects. Result: The results showed that the intervention improved the Weight-for-Age Z score of children by 0.30 ((3 = 0.30, 95 % CI: 0.15-0.45) and Weight-for-length Z score by 0.47 ((3 = 0.47, 95 % CI: 0.25-0.69). However, the intervention did not improve Length-for-age and health status. Conclusion: The findings imply the need for strengthening social behavior change communication to improve the complementary feeding practices of mothers in the study area. The trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov with a registration number NCT05254717. (c) 2025 European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.