Abstract:
Background: Minimum dietary diversity is the consumption of five or more food groups from the eight World Health
Organization recommended food groups. Adequately diversified diet, in terms of amount and composition, is critical
for optimal growth, development, and long-term health outcomes in the first 2 years. Understanding the regional
variation of dietary diversity and the underlying factors is crucial for developing and implementing interventions.
However, the use of spatial approaches in dietary studies has not been widely established. Therefore, this study aimed
to explore the spatial patterns and determinates of minimum dietary diversity practice among 6–23 months children
in Ethiopia.
Methods: Secondary data analysis was conducted based on the Demographic and Health Surveys data conducted
in Ethiopia. A total weighted sample of 1578 children aged 6–23 months was included for this study. The Global
Moran’s I was estimated to look into the regional variation of dietary diversity and hotspot and cold spot areas. Further, multivariable multilevel logistic regression was used for factor analyses. Adjusted Odds Ratio with 95% CI was
used to declare the strength and significance of the association.
Results: Overall, 87.4% (95% CI: 85.7 to 88.9%) of children in 2019 had inadequate Minimum dietary diversity. We
identified statistically significant clusters of high inadequate dietary diversity (hotspots) notably observed in Somali,
Afar, Eastern and western Amhara, western Tigray, Benishangul, and Northeastern and western parts of the southern
nations, nationality and peoples’ regions. Inadequate dietary diversity was significantly higher among young children,
