Nearly half of Kenyan children aged 6-23 months are being given sweetened beverages, while almost one in four go without fruits or vegetables, exposing them to risks of dental caries, obesity and poor nutrition.
The latest Kenya Mini Demographic and Health Survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that 47 per cent of children aged 6-23 months are given sweet beverages.
The survey further found that 18 per cent of children in this age group are fed unhealthy foods high in sugar, salt or unhealthy fats, while 23 per cent do not consume any fruits or vegetables.
The figures point to gaps in complementary feeding practices, the period when children begin receiving solid foods alongside breast milk, usually from six months of age.
“Unhealthy infant and young children feeding practices should be avoided because they can replace nutritious foods,” the survey cautions
The survey also found that exposure to sweet beverages increases as children grow older, with 32 per cent of those aged 6-11 months having consumed the drinks, compared with 49 per cent among children aged 12-17 months.
The proportion rises further to 61 per cent among children aged 18-23 months, suggesting that sweet drinks become more common in children’s diets as they approach their second birthday.
The survey links such feeding patterns to household income whereby 39 per cent of children from the poorest households consumed sweet beverages, compared with 53 per cent of those in the well-off families.
Similarly, 8 per cent of children in the poorest households consumed unhealthy foods, compared with 25 per cent in wealth households.
Mother’s education linked to children’s diets
The survey further attributes differences in children’s feeding practices to the mother’s level of education, particularly the consumption of fruits and vegetables.
More than half of children whose mothers had no formal education did not consume any fruits or vegetables on the day before the survey.
The number drops to 29 per cent among children whose mothers had primary education, 17 per cent among those with secondary education and 10 per cent among children whose mothers had education beyond secondary school.
The survey also found differences in sweet beverage consumption according to education levels, rising from 41 per cent among children whose mothers had no education to 53 per cent among those whose mothers had more than secondary education.
This suggests that higher maternal education does not necessarily translate into lower consumption of sweet drinks, even as it is associated with better fruit and vegetable intake.
Rural children more likely to miss fruits, vegetables
Geographical differences were also evident, with children in rural areas more likely to miss out on fruits and vegetables than those in urban households.
The survey indicates that 27 per cent of rural children aged 6-23 months had not consumed any vegetables or fruits, compared with 16 per cent of their urban counterparts.
However, sweet beverage consumption was almost similar across the two settings, at 46 per cent in rural areas and 47 per cent in urban areas.
Unhealthy food consumption was slightly higher in urban areas, at 20 per cent, compared with 16 per cent in rural areas.
The findings come against the backdrop of World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations on infant and young child feeding, which caution against introducing foods and beverages high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats during the first two years of life.
WHO’s 2023 complementary feeding guidelines recommend that children aged 6-23 months should not consume sugar-sweetened beverages or foods high in sugar, salt and trans fats.
The global health agency warns that the first two years are particularly important for establishing healthy eating habits, supporting growth and development, and reducing the risk of overweight and noncommunicable diseases later in life.
