Traditional weaning foods and practices in Jabalpur district with reference to prevalence of malnutrition

Weaning is an important milestone in a baby's life and weaning practices are strongly associated with culture of a society. In present investigation, an extensive survey was conducted on approximately 300 weaning children belonging to 12 Anganwadis (AWW) of 6 Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) regions lying in Jabalpur District to identify the traditional dietary pattern of weaning children. The diets of children were deficient in calories, protein, calcium, vitamin C and b-carotene. Supplementary foods are introduced into the diet at the ages of 4 to 8 months of children. Moderate to severe category of malnutrition was observed. Identified traditional weaning foods were based on cereals, small millets and pulses. Most prevalent traditional weaning foods of Jabalpur were found to be khichadi, dalia, roti (wheat/maize/kutki), sattu, pej (kodo/maize/kutki), panjiri, sewai, dal (lentil/arhar/batari), chawal (kodo/kutki/paddy), kudai bhat, latchaka (kodo/maize) and rejgeera ladoo.