Mal J Nutr 27(2): 209-219, 2021 __________________________ *Corresponding author: Liny SEK, Lecturer c/o institute of Human Nutrition and Food, College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines Los Banos Tel: (855)87 294 977; E-mail: linysek94@gmail.com doi: https://doi.org/10.31246/mjn-2020-0041 Dietary diversity and nutritional status of 2 to 5 years old children in households with and without home gardens in selected districts in Siem Reap province, Cambodia Liny SEK 1 , Aimee A. Sheree Barrion 1 , Clarissa B. Juanico 1 , Josefna T. Dizon 2 & Hurtada A. Wilma 1 1 Institute of Human Nutrition and Food, College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines Los Banos; 2 College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the Philippines Los Banos ABSTRACT Introduction: There is a high prevalence of malnutrition in Cambodia during the past 10 years. One of the programmes implemented to secure household food security in order to alleviate malnutrition was home gardening. This study aimed to compare the nutritional status of 2 to 5 years old children in households with and without home gardens. Methods: Twenty-fve households with home gardens and 60 households without home gardens were sampled. Results: The households sampled had a mixed type of home garden with three to fve crop varieties occupying 20 to 200 square meters area. The purpose of the garden was to increase vegetable consumption and produce additional income. Results showed that 72% and 65% of the children resided in households with and without home gardens, respectively. Majority had medium dietary diversity score, i.e. consumed four to fve different food groups per day. Except for stunting, higher prevalences of undernutrition (32%) and wasting (8%) were observed among children residing in households with home gardens compared to children in households without home gardens. Conclusion: There were no associations for dietary diversity score and nutritional status of children from households with and without home gardens. Among the socio- demographic and economic factors, age, sex, family size, and vegetable consumption were signifcantly associated with dietary diversity score and nutritional status of the children. Keywords: Home garden, dietary diversity score, nutritional status INTRODUCTION Malnutrition (stunting and wasting) in Cambodia remains a critical issue, with signifcant numbers of undernourished children and women from all levels of income, especially in the rural areas (National Institute of Statistics, 2014). This problem is reported to be caused by factors such as limited social protection for the poor and vulnerable families, the inability of households to secure suffcient and nutritious foods due to high rural poverty, and the occurrence of natural disasters such as fooding and droughts (Chaparro, 2014). Approximately 32% and 9% of