Abstract：
BACKGROUND: Nutritional inadequacy, especially micronutrients, is still a serious concern among children in developing countries. Dietary diversity score (DDS) has been recommended as a proxy for nutritional adequacy. The present study aims to develop a questionnaire to assess the dietary diversity among 24-59 months children in Iran; also, the validity of the dietary diversity score as an indicator of nutritional status among the children will be assessed.
METHODS: In order to design the questionnaire, the Food and Agriculture Organization Guideline for measuring individual dietary diversity will be applied. According to the guideline, foods are categorized into nine groups, then dietary diversity score will be calculated by summing the number of food groups. In order to evaluate the efficacy of this questionnaire in predicting the nutritional status of the children, the relationship between dietary diversity score calculated by the questionnaire with nutritional adequacy, serum retinol and anthropometric indicators will be compared.
CONCLUSIONS: DDS can be a valuable indicator for predicting the adequacy of macronutrients and micronutrients specially in children. It is also significantly related to the mean probability of adequacy (MPA).
METHODS: In order to design the questionnaire, the Food and Agriculture Organization Guideline for measuring individual dietary diversity will be applied. According to the guideline, foods are categorized into nine groups, then dietary diversity score will be calculated by summing the number of food groups. In order to evaluate the efficacy of this questionnaire in predicting the nutritional status of the children, the relationship between dietary diversity score calculated by the questionnaire with nutritional adequacy, serum retinol and anthropometric indicators will be compared.
CONCLUSIONS: DDS can be a valuable indicator for predicting the adequacy of macronutrients and micronutrients specially in children. It is also significantly related to the mean probability of adequacy (MPA).
摘要：
背景：营养不足，尤其是微量营养素，仍然是发展中国家儿童的严重关切。建议将饮食多样性评分（DDS）作为营养充足性的替代指标。本研究旨在制定一份调查问卷，以评估伊朗24-59个月儿童的饮食多样性；将评估膳食多样性评分作为儿童营养状况指标的有效性.
方法：为了设计问卷，将应用《粮食及农业组织衡量个人饮食多样性的指南》。根据指导方针,食物分为九组，然后将通过对食物组的数量求和来计算饮食多样性得分。为了评估该问卷在预测儿童营养状况方面的功效，通过问卷计算的膳食多样性得分与营养充足度之间的关系，将比较血清视黄醇和人体测量指标。
结论：DDS可以作为预测大量营养素和微量营养素充足性的有价值的指标，特别是在儿童中。它也与平均充分性概率(MPA)显著相关。
方法：为了设计问卷，将应用《粮食及农业组织衡量个人饮食多样性的指南》。根据指导方针,食物分为九组，然后将通过对食物组的数量求和来计算饮食多样性得分。为了评估该问卷在预测儿童营养状况方面的功效，通过问卷计算的膳食多样性得分与营养充足度之间的关系，将比较血清视黄醇和人体测量指标。
结论：DDS可以作为预测大量营养素和微量营养素充足性的有价值的指标，特别是在儿童中。它也与平均充分性概率(MPA)显著相关。
