Use of milk based commercial weaning foods amongst scheduled caste communities in Haryana
Kapil, U.; Verma, D.; Sachdev, H.P.; Nayar, D.; Shah, A.D.; Gnanasekaran, N.
Indian Pediatrics 32(8): 905-908
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0019-6061 PMID: 8635836 Document Number: 299790
As part of a larger study, the use of commercial weaning foods (CWF) was assessed amongst the scheduled caste population in 2 districts in Haryana State, India. Of 818 children in the age group 0-35 months, only 68 had received milk-based CWF at the time of the survey. There was no significant difference between the socioeconomic characteristics of children who were given the milk-based CWF and those who were not. The fact that 8.3% of children were given CWF at some time indicated that the use of CWF had infiltrated into the underprivileged section of the rural communities. This is an alarming observation since the use of CWF in an unhygienic environment may lead to diarrhoea and malnutrition. The findings indicate the urgent need for education on proper feeding practices and dissemination of these practices to the public.