Table 4.
Baseline characteristics of the participated infants in the two groupsb
| Characteristics | Experimental group (n = 100) | Control group (n = 100) | P valuea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Household characteristics | |||
| Family size (n) | 5.85 ± 2.35 | 5 ± 1.77 | 0.33 |
| Family income (NIS)c | 1275 ± 818.06 | 1000 ± 724.31 | 0.07 |
| Number of under-five children (n) | 2.01 ± 0.76 | 2 ± 0.52 | 0.18 |
| Maternal characteristics | |||
| Age (years) | 28..41 ± 5.86 | 28.4 ± 5.10 | 0.70 |
| Body mass index | 26.54 ± 5.33 | 26.64 ± 4.36 | 0.19 |
| Mother’s education (years) | 13.18 ± 2.89 | 12 ± 3.01 | 0.54 |
| Mother’s working status (%) | 0.07 | ||
| Working | 6 (6) | 15 (15) | |
| Housewives | 94 (94) | 85 (85) | |
| Infants’ characteristics | |||
| Age (months) | 6.28 ± 0.10 | 6.24 ± 0.09 | 0.08 |
| Gender (%) | 0.86 | ||
| Male | 52 (52) | 51 (51) | |
| Female | 48 (48) | 49 (49) | |
| Birth weight (kg) | 3.44 ± 0.33 | 3.41 ± 0.32 | 0.55 |
| Gestational age (weeks) | 38.31 ± 0.71 | 38.37 ± 0.68 | 0.59 |
| Infant currently breastfeeding (%) | 92 (92) | 96 (96) | 0.31 |
| Anthropometric measures | |||
| Weight (kg) | 7.57 ± 0.79 | 7.65 ± 0.72 | 0.47 |
| Length (cm) | 66.20 ± 1.87 | 66.11 ± 1.92 | 0.75 |
| Weight-for-age (z score) | −0.12 ± 0.92 | 0.01 ± 0.93 | 0.47 |
| Length-for-age (z score) | −0.25 ± 0.85 | − 0.28 ± 0.97 | 0.79 |
| Weight-for-length (z score) | 0.11 ± 1.01 | 0.28 ± 1.25 | 0.35 |
| Biochemical measure | |||
| Blood hemoglobin (g/dl) | 11.42 ± 0.35 | 11.44 ± 0.37 | 0.78 |
| Energy and micronutrient intakes | |||
| Total energy (kcal/day) | 656 ± 164 | 696 ± 167 | 0.11 |
| Iron (mg/day) | 7.51 ± 7.40 | 7.90 ± 8.55 | 0.75 |
| Vitamin A (mcg/day) | 299.70 ± 120.31 | 264.32 ± 161.19 | 0.10 |
| Vitamin D (mcg/day) | 3.24 ± 2.6 | 3.85 ± 3.03 | 0.16 |
*Difference is significant at p < 0.05 (2-tailed)
aStatistical testing using independent samples t-test or chi-square test
bValues are reported as means±SD
cNIS New Israeli Shekel