The Prevalence and Determinants of Child Hunger and Its Associations with Early Childhood Nutritional Status among Urban Poverty Households during COVID-19 Pandemic in Petaling District, Malaysia: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Survey.
Nutrients
; 15(10)2023 May 17.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37242239
ABSTRACT
Child hunger was prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the extent, determinants, and impact on pre-school children aged 6 months to 7 years old from Malaysian urban poor households are still unknown. This exploratory cross-sectional study was performed between July 2020 and January 2021 at the Lembah Subang People Housing Project, Petaling. The households' food security status was assessed using the previously validated Radimer/Cornell questionnaire, and the children's anthropometric measurements were taken. Food diversity score was assessed using the World Health Organization Infant and Young Children Feeding (under-2 children) or Food and Agriculture Organization Women's Dietary Diversity (2-year-old-and-above children) systems. Overall, 106 households were recruited. The prevalence of child hunger is 58.4% (95% CI 50.0, 67.4). Significant differences were found in breastfeeding and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption between under-2 and ≥2-year-old children. There were no significant differences between child hunger and other food-insecure groups in weight-for-age, height-for-age, and weight-for-height z-scores. Only a higher dietary diversity score was significantly protective against child hunger after adjusting for maternal age, paternal employment status, and the number of household children (ORadjusted 0.637 (95% CI 0.443, 0.916), p = 0.015)). Proactive strategies are warranted to reduce child hunger during the COVID-19 pandemic by improving childhood dietary diversity.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Estado Nutricional
/
COVID-19
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Aspecto:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
Limite:
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Infant
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Nutrients
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Malásia
País de publicação:
CH
/
SUIZA
/
SUÍÇA
/
SWITZERLAND