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Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W)
Also known as: MDD-W, Minimum Diet Diversity for Women, Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women indicator, minimum dietary diversity for women, Minimum Dietary Diversity Score for Women
Facts (26)
Sources
Dietary diversity insufficiently explains differences in prevalence of ... journals.plos.org 17 facts
formulaMinimum dietary diversity for women (MDD-W) is defined as the consumption of at least five out of ten food groups on the day preceding the interview.
measurementAlmost 50% of pregnant women in Nigeria do not meet the requirements for minimum dietary diversity (MDD-W).
procedureUnder the Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) criteria, women who consume fewer than five out of ten defined food groups are considered not to have minimum dietary diversity.
measurementLess than half of the pregnant women surveyed in Nigeria’s Demographic and Health Survey 2018 met the minimum dietary diversity for women (MDD-W) requirement, with a rate of 45.8%.
procedureThe study used multivariable logistic regression to examine the association between Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) and anaemia, employing a forward stepwise selection method with a p-value threshold of <0.10 to retain variables in the model.
claimThe Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) is a dichotomous indicator developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) used to measure micronutrient adequacy based on self-reported food consumption.
measurementFewer than half of the pregnant women in the study achieved the Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) score.
measurementMost pregnant women in the study consumed food from 3-5 food groups, and the Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) threshold of five or more food groups was least achieved among pregnant women in the North-Central region (p < 0.001).
procedureTo determine if there was an interaction between Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) and region, the study fitted an interaction term and performed postestimation using a likelihood ratio test to compare models with and without the interaction term.
claimThe Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) data collection method does not allow for the quantification of dietary consumption, such as portion sizes, which is a limitation in dietary research.
measurementThere was a significant crude association between minimum dietary diversity for women (MDD-W) and anaemia in pregnancy (OR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.60 - 0.99), but this association was lost when confounders were included in the analysis (aOR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.66-1.10).
claimThe association between Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) and anaemia in pregnancy lost statistical significance when confounders were considered in the study analysis.
claimThe study is population-based and uses a sample representative of Nigeria to provide insight into how Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) affects the prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy.
measurementPregnant women in Nigeria who achieved the Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) had 22% lower crude odds of anaemia compared to those who did not (95% CI: 0.60–0.99).
claimMinimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) data in the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) is based on self-reported information and is therefore prone to recall bias.
measurementThe Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) indicator has been utilized in over 85 countries to capture the number of food groups consumed by individuals on the preceding day and night.
claimThe researchers concluded that region is not an effect modifier of the association between minimum dietary diversity for women (MDD-W) and anaemia in pregnancy, and that dietary diversity alone does not explain the differences in anaemia prevalence across regions in Nigeria.
measurement-of-dietary-diversity Research Articles - Page 1 discovery.researcher.life 3 facts
claimThe Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has established guidelines for measuring dietary diversity, specifically the Individual Dietary Diversity Score (IDDS) and the Minimum Dietary Diversity Score for Women (MDD-W), to assess nutritional deficiency.
measurementIn the Pune Maternal Nutrition Study, the median Individual Dietary Diversity Score (IDDS) was 4 (interquartile range 3-4) and the Minimum Dietary Diversity Score for Women (MDD-W) was 6 (interquartile range 5-7).
measurementRural Indian youth in the Pune Maternal Nutrition Study with vitamin B12 deficiency had a higher likelihood of an Individual Dietary Diversity Score (IDDS) ≤ 4 (1.89; 95% CI 1.24, 2.87) or a Minimum Dietary Diversity Score for Women (MDD-W) ≤ 5 (1.40; 95% CI 1.02, 1.94).
Diet Quality Indices: Measures for Bridging Nutrition and Public Health link.springer.com 2 days ago 3 facts
referenceThe abbreviation MDD-W stands for Minimum Diet Diversity for Women.
referenceThe Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) published an updated guide in 2021 titled 'Minimum dietary diversity for women: An updated guide to measurement – from collection to action'.
referenceDiop L et al. (2025) published research in Cur Dev Nutr proposing that the 'minimum dietary diversity for women' indicator can be extended to children and adolescents aged 4–15 years as a proxy for micronutrient adequacy in low- and middle-income countries.
Dietary Guidelines and Quality - Principles of Nutritional Assessment nutritionalassessment.org 2 facts
claimConstructing the Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS) requires intermediate data complexity, but does not require food composition data, similar to the Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) and the GDR Score.
claimThe Global Dietary Recommendations (GDR) Score was developed as a complement to the Minimum Diet Diversity for Women (MDD-W) to provide a low-burden index that reflects non-communicable disease (NCD) risk reduction.
Cross-context equivalence and agreement of healthy diet metrics for ... pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 1 fact
referenceThe study evaluated several healthy diet metrics, including the Food Group Diversity Score (FGDS), Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women indicator, Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS) and its submetrics (GDQS+ and GDQS-), Global Dietary Recommendations (GDR) score and its submetrics (NCD-Protect and NCD-Risk scores), and the All-5 indicator.