Study Status: Active, not recruiting
Recruit Status: Active, not recruiting
Study Type: Interventional
Official Title: Cracking the Egg Potential: Improving Young Child Nutrition in Ecuador
Brief Summary: The proposed study will fill an important gap in the literature by examining, through a randomized controlled trial, the effect of egg consumption on biochemical markers of choline, vitamin B-12, lipids, and amino acids in young children in a poor rural area of Ecuador. Children from Cotopaxi Province, Ecuador (n=180) will be randomized into one of two groups: 1) intervention, receiving one egg per day for six months; or 2) control. Baseline and endline data on socio-economic factors, and child diet, morbidities, and anthropometry will be collected. Blood will also be drawn from the children at these time points for nutrient biomarker analyses. Through qualitative research the proposed study will provide insight into the attitudes, beliefs, and use of eggs by mothers and other caregivers during the complementary feeding period. The University of San Francisco in Quito (USFQ) will be the lead field coordinator of the research working in partnership with Washington University in St. Louis, Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and University of California, Davis.