Effect of Raising Nutritional Awareness Level on Height of Stunted School-aged Children

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Nutrition and Food Science Dept., Faculty of Home Economics, Helwan University

2 Clinical Nutrition Dept., National Nutrition Institute, Ministry of Health, Cairo, Egypt.

Abstract

Open Access
*Corresponding author: Reham M Abd-Elhady
Clinical Nutrition Dept, National Nutrition Institute.
 E-mail reham.mohamed2907@gmail.com
Mobile: +0201005041164
Received: 10 August 2024
Accepted: 9 September 2024 Published online: 20 September 2024
Citation
Haggag MH; Hammad EM; Habib EE and Abd Elhady RM (2024): Effect of Raising Nutritional Awareness Level on Height of Stunted School-aged Children. BNNI (64) 35-52. doi:10.21608/bnni.2024.380627

Stunting is a serious worldwide health issue, mainly due to chronic malnutrition which is often connected with a lack of nutritional awareness. So, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of raising nutritional awareness among stunted children aged 6-12 years, and their mothers on catching up with children's growth rate and improving nutritional status among them. A pre and post-test study was conducted on fifty school-age children chosen randomly from the Short Stature Clinics at the National Nutrition Institute, Ministry of Health, Cairo, Egypt after undergoing a medical examination by the physicians and excluding those with chronic diseases, metabolic disorders, and hereditary bone diseases. Dietary intervention and a specific nutritional education program were delivered to the children and their mothers for six months. Anthropometric, laboratory, and dietary evaluations were made for children at baseline and after the intervention. The main results illustrate highly significant improvements in mothers' and children's awareness (p=0,000) and a significant decrease in the severity of stunting per age and sex (p= 0.031) for both boys and girls. In conclusion, raising nutritional awareness and suitable dietary intervention may decrease stunting status among school-aged children. So, more research should be done on a wide range for a longer period to help school-age children catch up on the growth chart should be done.
 

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