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With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

Elodie Becquey

Elodie Becquey is a Senior Research Fellow in the Nutrition, Diets, and Health Unit, based in IFPRI’s West and Central Africa office in Senegal. She has over 15 years of research experience in diet, nutrition, and food security in Africa, including countries such as Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, and Tanzania.

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Nutrition, Diets, and Health

Loty Diop

Senior Research Analyst

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Bio

Loty Diop is a Senior Research Analyst in the Nutrition, Health, and Diets Unit, based in Dakar, Senegal, where she works on projects that tackle food security and acute malnutrition. These projects involve assessing the nutritional status and micronutrient adequacy of the diets of vulnerable populations, as well as conducting in-depth analyses of the food environment.

Loty earned a BS in statistics and an MSc in public health.

Languages spoken: French, English

Google Scholar Citations

Publications

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Journal Article

A large-scale nutrition- and gender-sensitive poultry market-based program did not improve maternal and child diets in rural Burkina Faso: A cluster-randomized controlled trial

2025Becquey, Elodie; Diop, Loty; Diatta, Ampa D.; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Awonon, Josue; Ganaba, Rasmane; Gelli, Aulo
Details

A large-scale nutrition- and gender-sensitive poultry market-based program did not improve maternal and child diets in rural Burkina Faso: A cluster-randomized controlled trial

Background Livestock production interventions can improve consumption of animal-source foods and diet diversity, which may lead to improved micronutrient adequacy. Objective We assessed the effectiveness on maternal and child dietary outcomes of SELEVER, a livestock intervention designed to improve diets in rural Burkina Faso through training and market facilitation to improve poultry production; women’s empowerment activities; and nutrition and hygiene behavior change communication. Methods For a nonblinded cluster-randomized controlled trial, we randomly assigned 30 communes to SELEVER and 30 communes to control, of which 15 communes served as control for a narrow sample. Fifteen households were randomly selected in two villages per commune; of which 12 were included in the narrow sample. In the wide sample, we used ANCOVA to assess SELEVER’s effectiveness on dietary diversity in index children aged 2-4 years at baseline and in their caregivers, and on minimum acceptable diet in their siblings aged 6-23 months at measurement. In the narrow sample, we used difference-in-difference to assess SELEVER’s effectiveness on vitamin A, iron, and zinc prevalence of adequate intakes (PA) and mean PA of 11 micronutrients in index children and caregivers. Results We enrolled 1,767 index children, 1,766 caregivers and 412 siblings aged 6–23 months at endline in the wide sample, and 1,054 caregiver-child dyads in the narrow sample. In the wide sample, exposure to program activities was higher but moderate in SELEVER communities, with limited effects on dietary knowledge and practices and no effects on diet outcomes. The narrow sample showed a negative effect on zinc PA in children (-26 percentage points, P=0.020), and no effect on other outcomes. Conclusions A program focused on improving the productivity of and demand for nutritious foods did not improve micronutrient adequacy. Implementation strategy and bottlenecks may have limited the system transformations needed to produce measurable shifts toward healthier diets. The study was registered on the ISCRCTN registry (ISRCTN16686478); details are available at https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN16686478

Year published

2025

Authors

Becquey, Elodie; Diop, Loty; Diatta, Ampa D.; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Awonon, Josue; Ganaba, Rasmane; Gelli, Aulo

Citation

Becquey, Elodie; Diop, Loty; Diatta, Ampa D.; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Awonon, Josue; Ganaba, Rasmane; and Gelli, Aulo. 2025. A large-scale nutrition- and gender-sensitive poultry market-based program did not improve maternal and child diets in rural Burkina Faso: A cluster-randomized controlled trial. Journal of Nutrition 155(6): 1909-1922. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.04.027

Country/Region

Burkina Faso

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Children; Dietary Diversity; Poultry; Rural Areas; Trace Elements

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.04.027 Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

Development and validation of the global diet quality score (GDQS) for children 5 to 9 years of age

2025
Arsenault, Joanne E.; Ali, Nazia Binte; Atayde, Agata M. P.; Batis, Carolina; Becquey, Elodie; Bromage, Sabri; Deitchler, Megan; Diop, Loty; Gelli, Aulo; Castellanos Gutierrez, Anali
…more Kehoe, Sarah H.; Krishnaveni, Ghattu V.; Leonardo, Sofia; Moursi, Mourad; Nkengfack, Brunhilda Tegomoh
Details

Development and validation of the global diet quality score (GDQS) for children 5 to 9 years of age

Objective The purpose of the study was to develop and validate a Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS) for children aged 5–9 years adapted from the existing GDQS developed for adults. Background Diet quality is important for nutrient adequacy and risk of nutrition-related chronic disease. A diet quality metric for global use with children is needed. Methods The 25 food groups of the GDQS were used to assign points for categories of consumption according to gram-weight cutoffs adapted for children based on energy requirements. As a preliminary step, alternative versions of gram-weight cutoffs were tested by comparing correlation analyses using 4 existing dietary datasets from low-, middle-, and high-income countries. A final GDQS metric version, selected based on strength of correlations and operational feasibility, was further examined in regression analyses with individual nutrient intake an overall nutrient intake adequacy score and biomarker and anthropometry outcomes in 7 dietary datasets from different countries. Regressions were also undertaken with other diet quality metrics to compare their relative performance with that of the GDQS. Results The GDQS had strong associations with most nutrient intakes, including an overall mean nutrient adequacy score and some nutrients associated with noncommunicable disease risk, such as fiber and added sugar. Biomarker data were limited in the available datasets and few associations with GDQS were found. The GDQS performed better or as well as other dietary quality metrics in predicting nutrient intakes. Conclusion The GDQS was associated with nutrient intakes and fills a gap in a global diet quality metric for children. The GDQS will be a useful tool to measure diet quality and monitoring changes in diet quality over time.

Year published

2025

Authors

Arsenault, Joanne E.; Ali, Nazia Binte; Atayde, Agata M. P.; Batis, Carolina; Becquey, Elodie; Bromage, Sabri; Deitchler, Megan; Diop, Loty; Gelli, Aulo; Castellanos Gutierrez, Anali; Kehoe, Sarah H.; Krishnaveni, Ghattu V.; Leonardo, Sofia; Moursi, Mourad; Nkengfack, Brunhilda Tegomoh

Citation

Arsenault, Joanne E.; Ali, Nazia Binte; Atayde, Agata M. P.; Batis, Carolina; Becquey, Elodie; et al. 2025. Development and validation of the global diet quality score (GDQS) for children 5 to 9 years of age. Nutrition Reviews 83(Supplement 1): 37-49. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuae146

Keywords

Non-communicable Diseases; Diet Quality; Children; Nutrient Intake; Measurement

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuae146 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Validation of the Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS) among children 10 to 14 years of age

2025
Batis, Carolina; Castellanos-Gutiérrez, Analí; Ali, Nazia Binte; Arsenault, Joanne E.; Atayde, Agata M. P.; Bromage, Sabri; Deitchler, Megan; Diop, Loty; Gelli, Aulo; Kehoe, Sarah H.
…more Leonardo, Sofia; Moursi, Mourad; Nkengfack, Brunhilda Tegomoh; Willett, Walter C.
Details

Validation of the Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS) among children 10 to 14 years of age

Objective We aimed to evaluate the performance of the Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS) in predicting nutrient intake and health outcomes among children aged 10–14 years old in Mexico, the United States, the United Kingdom, and China. For comparison, we evaluated other dietary metrics (Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women [MDD-W], the Global Dietary Recommendations score [GDR], and the Healthy Eating Index–2020 [HEI-2020]). Background Given the magnitude of the health burden associated with all forms of malnutrition, monitoring dietary quality is fundamental to improving global health. Early adolescence is a key stage of development, and thus validated tools to measure diet quality that are pertinent for the global context are needed. Methods The GDQS and comparison metrics were estimated from 24-hour dietary recalls (Mexico: n = 2533; United States: n = 685; China: n = 1087, and United Kingdom: n = 1675). Regression models were conducted to evaluate the association between the change in 1 SD of each metric score and usual intake of nutrients, mean probability of nutrient adequacy, and biomarker and anthropometric outcomes adjusted by age, sex, socioeconomic status, educational level, urban/rural area, and usual energy intake (for dietary outcomes). Results The GDQS showed a higher diet quality in China (16.7 points) and Mexico (15.9 points), followed by the United States (13.6 points) and the United Kingdom (12.2 points). The GDQS was found to be associated with the intake of micronutrients as well as noncommunicable disease (NCD)–related nutrients (fiber, added sugar, and saturated fat) (P < .05). The performance of the GDQS was comparable to all other metrics; yet, in the case of NCD-related nutrients the MDD-W was slightly inferior. Few associations were found across countries and metrics with biomarker and anthropometric outcomes. Conclusion The GDQS was associated with the intake of micronutrients and NCD-related nutrients; these results suggest that the GDQS is an appropriate tool to monitor dietary quality among 10–14-year-olds across several contexts globally.

Year published

2025

Authors

Batis, Carolina; Castellanos-Gutiérrez, Analí; Ali, Nazia Binte; Arsenault, Joanne E.; Atayde, Agata M. P.; Bromage, Sabri; Deitchler, Megan; Diop, Loty; Gelli, Aulo; Kehoe, Sarah H.; Leonardo, Sofia; Moursi, Mourad; Nkengfack, Brunhilda Tegomoh; Willett, Walter C.

Citation

Batis, Carolina; Castellanos-Gutiérrez, Analí; Ali, Nazia Binte; Arsenault, Joanne E; Atayde, Agata M P; Bromage, Sabri; et al. 2025. Validation of the Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS) among children 10 to 14 years of age. Nutrition Reviews 83(Supplement 1): 50–60. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuaf006

Country/Region

Mexico; United States; United Kingdom; China

Keywords

Northern America; Americas; Western Europe; Europe; Asia; Eastern Asia; Diet Quality; Children; Nutrient Intake; Health; Adolescents

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuaf006 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

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Micronutrient Forum: 5th Global Conference
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November 9 to 13, 2020

Micronutrient Forum: 5th Global Conference

IFPRI is participating in the Micronutrient Forum’s 5th Global Conference on “Building New Evidence and Alliances for Improving Nutrition.” Food systems are at the heart of determining what people eat. Micronutrients are at the heart of the potential of food systems to deliver optimal health. The 2020 Micronutrient Forum conference will continue to cover the broad […]