24-hours or 7 days’ recall in infant and young child feeding: implications for research in low and middle-income countries

Abstract

This commentary highlights the need to consider contextual factors when selecting recall periods for assessing dietary diversity in children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The 24-hour recall approach is standard but may be inadequate in LMICs, where food availability is seasonal. As a result, many infants and young children do not appear to meet minimum dietary diversity within the recommended 24 hours and the validity of this finding may be uncertain. Extending the recall to 7 days often reveals occasional and useful consumption of animal-source foods, fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Thus, longer recall periods may better reflect habitual intake and improve assessment accuracy in resource-limited settings.