| Study | Reason for exclusion |
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| | Bangladesh 1992 | The intervention is an energy-dense supplementary food together with nutritional education vs nutritional education alone.
Method: random generation after obtaining caregiver consent was done by using a computer-generated random number table.
Participants: children aged 6-12 mo with a MUAC between 110 and 129 mm.
Intervention: 450 g of pre-mixed roasted and packed rice, wheat and lentil powder along with 90 g of cooking oil. The mothers were taught by local community nutrition workers how to prepare an energy-dense porridge from these ingredients, adding salt or sugar as appropriate (energy content of 163 kcal/100 g). They were instructed to give it three times daily. Families with older siblings under 5 years of age received an additional packet to compensate for the effect of food sharing.
Outcomes: mean monthly weight gain. |
| | Bolivia 1996 | 24% of withdrawals in the control group (15 refusal of parents to continue participation and 5 absences).
Method: random generation after inclusion of each child was done by drawing lots.
Participants: 127 children aged 4-7 mo.
Intervention: food supplementation vs non supplementation. The supplement was a cereal based pre-cooked porridge enriched with vitamins and minerals to be mixed with boiled water for hygienic preparation. Introduction was progressive, 25 g dry supplement in 75 ml water per meal, i.e. 103 kcal in 100 g from 4 to 5 mo and 50 g supplement and 135 ml water per meal, i.e. 205 kcal in 185 g from 5 to 7 mo. The packets were delivered at home twice daily for three months by a fieldworker who monitored its consumption.
Outcomes: 4-7 length increments. |
| | Colombia 1981 | 23% of children excluded after randomisation (4 stillbirth, 4 multiple births, 3 changes of address, 8 missing data after birth, and 22 without a clearly reason for exclusion (mortality or changes of address). Food supplements were provided from the onset of the third trimester of pregnancy until the children reached the age of 3 years old. Though, supplementation of mothers during pregnancy complicates the interpretation of results because effects cannot be analysed separately.
Method: "families were randomly assigned to control and supplemented groups". No further information provided.
Participants: 131 Colombian children aged 0-36 mo.
Intervention: food supplementation vs non supplementation. The supplement was delivered weekly at home. Infants aged 3-12 mo received a high-protein, whole-powered-milk-and vegetable mixture. After 12 mo of age, they received enriched bread, powered skim milk, and vegetable oil as did all other family members. In addition, children were also provided with 7.5 mg or 15 mg ferrous sulphate daily in the form of oral drops and a standard dose of 60,000 ug of vitamin A every 6 mo.
Outcomes: prevalence of malnutrition, physical growth and child morbidity during the first 3 y of life. |
| | Congo 1996 | 28% of withdrawals in the group receiving food supplementation (12 refusal of parents to continue participation, 7 absences and 2 deaths).
Method: random generation after inclusion of each child was done by drawing lots.
Participants: 120 children aged 4-7 mo.
Intervention: food supplementation vs non supplementation. The supplement was a cereal based pre-cooked porridge enriched with vitamins and minerals to be mixed with boiled water for hygienic preparation. Introduction was progressive, 25 g dry supplement in 75 ml water per meal, i.e.103 kcal in 100 g from 4 to 5 mo and 50 g supplement and 135 ml water per meal, i.e. 205 kcal in 185 g from 5 to 7 mo. The packets were delivered at home twice daily for three months by a fieldworker who monitored its consumption.
Outcomes: 4-7 length increments. |
| | Gambia 1998 | The age of the children participating in the study was 68 ±21 mo (values are given as mean ± SD).
Method: groups were randomly allocated to receive either a high fat supplement, an isocaloric high CHO supplement or no supplement at all. No further information was provided.
Participants: 90 stunted children with a H-F-A z score < -2 aged between 3 and 9 years old. Wasted children with a H-F-A z score < -2 were excluded.
Intervention: Children were supplemented with biscuits containing different proportions of rice, flour, roasted groundnuts, sugar, vegetable oil and honey. They were similar regarding their micronutrient and vitamin constitution with exception that high fat biscuits contained notably more vitamin E. The high CHO biscuit contains 533 kcal/ 100 g of raw biscuit. The supplements were given 5 d/week for one year.
Outcomes: weight (g), height (cm), skinfolds (mm), HC (cm), MUAC (cm) |
| | India 2001 | The intervention is a micronutrient-fortified food supplement supported by counselling or nutritional counselling.
Method: "children were randomly assigned to one of four study groups". No further information.
Participants: 418 infants aged 4-12 mo.
Intervention: milk-based cereal supplement and nutritional counselling (a packet of 50 g was delivered at home during the twice-weekly visits for morbidity ascertainment) vs no intervention.
Outcomes: anthropometric outcomes (weight and length), morbidity, impact on breastfeeding rates and energy intake. |
| | Malawi 2004 | A 12-week supplementation trial among underweight and stunted children aged 42 to 60 months of age who were randomised to receive either RTUF or maize and soy flour.
Method: "allocation to the study group was made using computer-generated random numbers by one author not participating in data collection. Group allocation was sealed in individual opaque envelopes at study commencement. Research assistant and participant's guardian were aware of the group allocation, while the study physician remained blinded until study completion.
Participants: 61 underweight, stunted children 42 to 60 months of age from a rural community in Malawi, south eastern Africa.
Intervention: RTUF (92 g/day) vs maize and soy flour (140 g/day). They were intended to provide 500 kcal/day energy and additional macro-and micronutrients. RTUF could be eaten without additional preparation, whereas the maize and soy flour required cooking. Both food supplements were delivered fortnightly to the child's home.
Outcomes: weight and height were measured at baseline and intervention periods, and at the end of the 12-week follow-up. |
| | Mexico 2004 | Children and pregnant and lactating women in participating households received fortified nutrition supplements, and the families received nutrition education, health care and cash transfers.
Method: 506 communities were randomly selected from a pool of communities that were eligible to receive the program benefits, 320 of these were randomly assigned to receive a packet of interventions, whereas the rest of the communities (n = 186) were assigned to act as controls. The nutritional impact sub study was conducted in a random selection of 205 of the 320 communities (intervention group) and in 142 communities randomly selected from the 186 (control group).Random generation not described.
Participants: children aged 4 to 23 months, underweight children aged 2 to 4 years, pregnant and lactating women in low-income rural households.
Intervention: 205 intervention communities (n = 461 children aged < or equal 12 months) received a 240-g packages containing 5 daily rations of dry whole milk, sugar, maltodextrin, and micronutrients (iron, zinc, vit A, E, C, B12, folic acid) for 24 months. They were distributed at health centres where mothers were instructed to add 4 spoons of boiled water to one ration, which produces a puree consistency. In addition, other interventions such as cash transfers and maternal health and nutrition education were included in the program. The 142 control communities (n = 334 children aged < or equal 12 months) were enrolled 12 months later and are referred to as crossover intervention communities.
Outcomes: two-year height increments and anaemia rates as measured by blood haemoglobin levels. |
| | New Caledonia 1996 | 32% of withdrawals in the group receiving food supplementation (8 refusal of parents to continue participation, 11 absences and 1 illness).
Method: random generation after inclusion of each child was done by drawing lots.
Participants: 90 children aged 4-7 mo.
Intervention: food supplementation vs non supplementation. The supplement was a cereal based pre-cooked porridge enriched with vitamins and minerals to be mixed with boiled water for hygienic preparation. Introduction was progressive, 25 g dry supplement in 75 ml water per meal, i.e. 103 kcal in 100 g from 4 to 5 mo and 50 g supplement and 135 ml water per meal, i.e. 205 kcal in 185 g from 5 to 7 mo. The packets were delivered at home twice daily for three months by a fieldworker who monitored its consumption.
Outcomes: 4-7 length increments. |
| | Senegal 1996 | 20% of withdrawals in the group receiving food supplementation (7 refusal of parents to continue participation, 3 absences,1 illness and 2 deaths).
Method: random generation after inclusion of each child was done by drawing lots.
Participants: 110 children aged 4-7 mo.
Intervention: food supplementation vs non supplementation. The supplement was a cereal based pre-cooked porridge enriched with vitamins and minerals to be mixed with boiled water for hygienic preparation. Introduction was progressive, 25 g dry supplement in 75 ml water per meal, i.e. 103 kcal in 100 g from 4 to 5 mo and 50 g supplement and 135 ml water per meal, i.e. 205 kcal in 185 g from 5 to 7 mo. The packets were delivered at home twice daily for three months by a fieldworker who monitored its consumption.
Outcomes: 4-7 length increments. |
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