Kathryn Dewey and Mary Arimond discuss new research in PLOS Medicine that assesses the effect of blanket provision of ready-to-use supplementary food to children at high risk of malnutrition in Chad, and highlight some of the challenges of investigating the efficacy of supplementary foods for malnourished children.

The kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) is a large, flightless, nocturnal parrot, endemic to New Zealand. It is critically endangered, with a world population of ca. 62 individuals and a male-biased adult sex ratio. The species has a polygynous ‘‘lek’’ mating system and adult males typically weigh 30–40% more than females. The kakapo is subject to intensive conservation efforts, including the provisi...

OBJECTIVE To describe adherence with infant feeding and complementary feeding guidelines. DESIGN Prospective study of infant feeding and complementary feeding practices were collected as part of the Cork BASELINE Birth Cohort Study. SETTING Cork, Ireland. SUBJECTS Data are described for the 823 infants for whom a diary was completed. RESULTS Breast-feeding was initiated in 81 % of infan...

Timing and type of complementary food in infancy affect nutritional status and health later in life. The objective of this paper was to assess complementary feeding practices, looking at timing, type, and compliance with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. Data were obtained from a birth cohort of 400 infants, enrolled in Trieste (Italy) between July 2007 and July 2008 and followed...

OBJECTIVE Increasing the consumption of Fe-rich foods and thus improving Fe bioavailability without significantly increasing diet cost is the most sustainable intervention for improving Fe intake. We assessed the effect of supplementary food consisting of fermented soyabean (tempeh) and vitamin C-rich fruit consumed during pregnancy on maternal iron deficiency (ID). DESIGN Pregnant women were...

OBJECTIVE To determine feeding practices and selected health-related behaviours in New Zealand families following a 'baby-led' or more traditional 'parent-led' method for introducing complementary foods. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS 199 mothers completed an online survey about introducing complementary foods to their infant. Participants were classified into one of four groups: 'adherent ...

Meeting the high nutrient needs of pregnant and lactating women and their young children in regions such as South Asia is challenging because diets are dominated by staple foods with low nutrient density and poor mineral bioavailability. Gaps in nutritional adequacy in such populations probably date back to the agricultural revolution ~10 000 years ago. Options for improving diets during the fi...

Supplementary feeding of ungulates, being widely used in game management, may have unwanted consequences. Its role in agricultural damage is well-studied, but few studies have considered the potential for the practice to attract ground nest predators. Our goal was to identify the factors influencing ground nest predation in the vicinity of year-round supplementary feeding sites for wild boar an...