What does the MDD-W indicator mean?

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MDD-W is the acronym for “Minimum Dietary Diversity-Women.” MDD-W is a dichotomous indicator of whether or not women 15-49 years of age have consumed at least five out of ten defined food groups the previous day or night. The proportion of women 15–49 years of age who reach this minimum in a population reflects one important dimension of diet quality.

Even though the indicator is measured by asking questions of individual women, it is a population-level indicator, i.e. it is designed to tell us something about micronutrient adequacy of groups of women.

Groups of women who achieve minimum dietary diversity (i.e. meet the threshold of five or more groups) are more likely to have higher (more adequate) micronutrient intakes than groups of women who do not.

The 10 food groups that comprise the MDD-W indicator are:

  1. Grains, white roots and tubers, and plantains
  2. Pulses (beans, peas and lentils)
  3. Nuts and seeds
  4. Dairy
  5. Meat, poultry and fish
  6. Eggs
  7. Dark green leafy vegetables
  8. Other vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables
  9. Other vegetables
  10. Other fruits

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