Triple burden of malnutrition among Malaysian children aged 6 months to 12 years: Current findings from SEANUTS II Malaysia.
Public Health Nutr
; : 1-36, 2023 Nov 07.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37932916
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
This paper aims to report South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS) II Malaysia data on nutritional status, dietary intake, and nutritional biomarkers of children aged 6 months to 12 years.DESIGN:
Cross-sectional survey conducted in 2019-2020.SETTING:
Multistage cluster sampling conducted in Central, Northern, Southern, and East Coast regions of Peninsular Malaysia.PARTICIPANTS:
2989 children aged 0.5-12.9 years.RESULTS:
Prevalences of stunting, thinness, overweight, and obesity among children aged 0.5-12.9 years were 8.9%, 6.7%, 9.2%, and 8.8%, respectively. Among children below 5 years old, 11.4% were underweight, 13.8% had stunting, and 6.2% wasting. Data on nutritional biomarkers showed a small proportion of children aged 4-12 years had iron (2.9%) and vitamin A deficiencies (3.1%). Prevalence of anaemia was distinctly different between children below 4 years old (40.3%) and those aged 4 years and above (3.0%). One-fourth of children (25.1%) had vitamin D insufficiency, which was twice as prevalent in girls (35.2% vs. boys 15.6%). The majority of children did not meet the recommended dietary intake for calcium (79.4%) and vitamin D (94.8%).CONCLUSIONS:
Data from SEANUTS II Malaysia confirmed that triple burden of malnutrition co-exists among children in Peninsular Malaysia, with higher prevalence of overnutrition than undernutrition. Anaemia is highly prevalent among children below 4 years old, while vitamin D insufficiency is more prevalent among girls. Low intakes of dietary calcium and vitamin D are also of concern. These findings provide policymakers with useful and evidence-based data to formulate strategies that address the nutritional issues of Malaysian children.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
Public Health Nutr
Journal subject:
CIENCIAS DA NUTRICAO
/
SAUDE PUBLICA
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Malaysia