Food insecurity and not dietary diversity is a predictor of nutrition status in children within semiarid agro-ecological zones in Eastern Kenya

Machakos and Makueni counties in Kenya are associated with historical land degradation, climate change, and food insecurity. Both counties lie in lower midland (LM) lower humidity to semiarid (LM4), and semiarid (LM5) agroecological zones (AEZ). We assessed food security, dietary diversity, and nutritional status of children and women. Materials and Methods. A total of 277 woman-child pairs aged 15-46 years and 6-36 months respectively, were recruited from farmer households. Food security and dietary diversity were assessed using standard tools. Weight and height, or length in children, were used for computation of nutritional status. Findings. No significant difference (P > 0.05) was observed in food security and dietary diversity score (DDS) between LM4 and LM5. Stunting, wasting, and underweight levels among children in LM4 and LM5 were comparable as were BMI scores among women. However, significant associations (P = 0.023) were found between severe food insecurity and nutritional status of children but not of their caregivers. Stunting was significantly higher in older children (>2 years) and among children whose caregivers were older. Conclusion. Differences in AEZ may not affect dietary diversity and nutritional status of farmer households. Consequently use of DDS may lead to underestimation of food insecurity in semiarid settings.