Higher Levels of Dairy Result in Improved Physical Outcomes: A Synthesis of 3 Randomized Controlled Trials in Guinea-Bissau Comparing Supplements with Different Levels of Dairy Ingredients Among Children 6 to 59 Months, 5 to 19 Year Olds, and Mothers in Preschools, Primary Schools, and Villages, and the Implications for Programs:

Background:This article synthesizes the results of 3 cluster randomized controlled trials of dairy-containing ready-to-use supplementary foods (RUSFs) to address malnutrition in primary schools, preschools and villages in Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s poorest countries. Together, these studies document widespread malnutrition across infants, young children, adolescents, and pregnant and lactating women and point to intervention options that were not previously presented.Objective:To combine the evidence from the United States Department of Agriculture–funded pilot studies in Guinea-Bissau on the effects of dairy protein supplementation to gain a broader perspective on the role of dairy containing RUSFs in various age-groups, the importance of the mother–child dyad and family food dynamics for infant and child growth. Translate the results into action and the next generation of effective products.Methods:A comparative analysis of data and synthesis of evidence from 3 published studies and ongoing resea...