1. Introduction
picky-eating behaviors, overweight, malnutrition
ADVERSE EFFECTS, OBESE, WASTED, MALNUTRITION
Nutrient inadequacies among picky-eaters have adverse effects on growth and development. Oral nutritional supplements (ONS) along with dietary counseling (DC), rather than DC alone as reported in our earlier publication, promoted growth among picky-eating Indian children aged from >24 m to ≤48 m with weight-for-height percentiles lying between the 5th and 25th (based on WHO Growth Standards) over 90 days. This paper presents the contribution of ONS to nutrient adequacy, dietary diversity, and food consumption patterns in children (N = 321). Weight, height, and dietary intakes, using 24-h food recalls, were measured at baseline (Day 1) and at Days 7, 30, 60, and 90. Nutrient adequacy, dietary diversity score (DDS), and food intake adequacy were calculated in both the supplementation groups (ONS1 + DC and ONS2 + DC; n = 107 in each group) and the control group (DC-only; n = 107). Supplements increased nutrient adequacy in both of the ONS + DC groups relative to control (Globally, 149.2 million under-age-five children are stunted, 45.4 million children are wasted, and 38.9 million children are overweight or obese [Children with picky-eating behaviors often lack adequate nutrition in their diet, and this compromises their growth and development. The prevalence of picky-eating in children is observed to be highest during the age range of 2–5 years, when it ranges from 10 to 50% [Multicomponent approaches have been beneficial in improving picky-eating behavior and nutritional status in children [The main goal of the present study is to compare the efficacy and safety of using two pediatric oral nutritional supplements (ONS) along with dietary counseling vs using dietary counseling alone on the growth of picky eaters who are at risk of malnutrition in India. Our earlier publication presented the effect of ONS and dietary counselling on growth in children [