Intake of Lipid-based Nutrient Supplements during Illness and Convalescence among Moderately-underweight Malawian Children

The analysis initially compared LNS intake on days when children were reported to be ill versus not ill. The categories ‘ill’ and ‘not ill’ were then further subdivided. Mutually-exclusive groups were developed to categorize illnesses: fever was given the first priority in forming the groups, followed by diarrhoea, as these have the largest effect on food intake of children (2,3). Fever was defined as fever only or in combination with any other symptom; diarrhoea was defined as diarrhoea only or in combination with any symptom other than fever; cough was defined as cough only or cough together with ‘other’ illnesses; and ‘other’ illnesses contained only symptoms in the ‘other’ category, including sores, pus from ears, vomiting, and prolonged crying.