The implications of the above study's results are important. Supplementation with an HP energy diet during convalescence from shigellosis sustains linear growth. In acute shigellosis, children often have severe anorexia which limits food intake (Rahman et al. 1992). Therefore, it is reasonable to provide extra energy and protein during convalescence when appetite returns. Diarrheal morbidity can also be reduced, likely due to improvement of nutritional status of the supplemented children.

One of the major limitations of this study is that the diet containing animal protein such as milk, chicken and egg fed to the children in the HP group may not be affordable by the underprivileged community in most developing countries. Further research is therefore required to evaluate locally available inexpensive plant-protein-based diets for catch-up growth in children with shigellosis.