RESUMO
Background: Milk contains essential nutrients that help can improve the growth and development of adolescent girls. Objectives: The study determined the effect of milk consumption on the nutritional status of schoolgirls ages 10 to 12 years old in Magdalena, Laguna, Philippines. Methodology: A quasi-experimental study design was used to determine the impact of daily consumption of 200 ml buffalo milk on the prevalence of undernutrition among the 57 schoolgirl participants before and after 160 days. One sample t-test and paired t-test were used to compare the actual and expected total increment and monthly changes in the height and body mass index (BMI) of the participants, while a one-way analysis of variance was used to compare the actual total changes in height and BMI by age. Factors that are correlated with these measurements were identified based on Spearman's correlation coefficients. Results: The percentage of stunting (31.6%-22.8%) and thinness (21.1%-15.8%) decreased after the milk feeding. Significant differences were observed in the means of total actual and expected changes in height (P < .00) and BMI (P < .00). While there were significant differences in the means of actual and expected monthly changes in height every month, this was only observed in the first 2 months for BMI. Only the mean actual changes in height had significant differences when compared by age (P = .04). Lastly, the age and education of the father were found to be correlated with the height of the schoolgirls. Conclusion: Buffalo milk consumption can improve the growth outcomes of schoolgirls.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to analyze the household dietary diversity of beneficiary and non-beneficiary households of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in selected barangays in San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines and determine the nutritional status of children (6-60 months old) within these households.METHODS: Household dietary diversity score (HDDS) was used as an indicator for the households' dietary diversity. The nutritional status of children was determined using anthropometric data from the Barangay Health Centers. A total of 270 households was randomly selected through stratified random sampling with equal allocation.RESULTS: Findings showed that beneficiary households had higher HDDS compared to the non-beneficiary households. The results also suggest that beneficiary households with larger household size, higher income, who were living in rural areas and who have female as well as more educated financial managers, tend to have a more diverse diet. On the other hand, a higher prevalence of malnutrition was observed among children in beneficiary households.CONCLUSION: Beneficiary households of 4Ps had better diet quality in terms of diversity than non-beneficiary households. However, the advantage of having a more diverse diet has not fully addressed the malnutrition problem among children as it was still widely prevalent in beneficiary households.
