Project duration: July 1, 2025 to October 31, 2026
Funding: Tailored Food
Project coordination: Dr. Markus Keller (IFPE), Dr. Stine Weder (IFPE), Prof. Dr. Ina Danquah (HIGH)
Project partner: Heidelberg Institute of Global Health (HIGH)
Project description:
The aim of this project is to identify and summarize current knowledge about the health of children with plant-based diets in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and to answer the following key research questions:
- Which dietary patterns can contribute to healthy growth and development in children in LMICs?
- Do children who grow up in societies where animal-based foods are not consumed regularly or are consumed only in small amounts have different health outcomes than children who live in societies where animal-based foods are consumed regularly (e.g., daily, weekly) or in larger quantities?
- If there are societies with predominantly plant-based diets where children appear to be healthy and high-achieving, what are the core components of these diets, and what lessons can be learned from these contexts for other countries?
The project objectives will be achieved in two work packages (WPs):
WP1 will involve a systematic literature review with meta-synthesis to analyze the nutritional status of children in LMICs (low- and middle-income countries) following different plant-based diet concepts.
WP2 will evaluate and summarize nationally representative data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) on infants from several LMICs regarding plant-based diets and their relationship to children’s health.
The research project aims to contribute to comparing existing dietary patterns of children in different regions of the world with the recommendations of the Planetary Health Diet (PHD) and to use this analysis to improve dietary recommendations.