Supplementary Feeding with Locally-Produced Ready-to-Use Food (RUF) for Mildly Wasted Children on Nias Island, Indonesia: Comparison of Daily and Weekly Program Outcomes

Ready-to-Use Foods (RUFs) in the form of fortified cereal/nut/legume-based biscuits (+/-500 kcal and 8-10% protein per 100 g) were tested among mildly wasted children from October 2007 to June 2008, and were labelled as RUF-Nias biscuits. This study reports on a comparison of supplementary feeding program outcomes of mildly wasted children with weight-for-height z-score (WHZ) >=-2 to =6 to =-1.5 SD. Of the index children admitted in daily programs (n=51), 80.4% reached target WHZ, which was higher than in weekly programs (72.9%; n=48) by a similar length of stay of about 6 weeks. Weight gain of the children in daily programs was higher (3.1+/-3.6 g/kg body weight/day) than in weekly programs (2.0+/-2.1 g/kg body weight/day), and they achieved significantly higher WHZ at discharge. However, the majority of caretakers preferred weekly programs due to lower time constraints. Locally produced RUF in the form of biscuits for treatment of mild wasting among children demonstrated promising results both in daily and weekly communitybased intervention programs.