Assessment of the nutritional status of pre-school children in Mahabad rural areas.

Abstract

The nutritional assessment of pre-school children in rural areas of Mahabad Iran showed that about 75% had mild to severe protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) 8-17% of the total (802) being severely malnourished. The data reveal a decreasing trend for the % of cases from birth through the 3rd year of life regardless of whether malnutrition is expressed by the Gomez or McLaren and Reed classification. (These classifications measure weight with respect to age length and mid-arm circumference for determining malnutrition.) PEM was most prevalent in the 2nd and 3rd years of life severe PEM was twice as common among girls than boys and the survey showed that 83% of the normal children were those who were given breast milk only the rest being fed a mixture of mothers and artificial milk. The report recommends the discontinuation of bottle feeding because: 1) the milk is usually made too diluted at the time of reconstitution a fact confirmed by casual observations in the present study; and 2) previous investigations have revealed that contamination at the time of preparation results in diarrhea among bottle-fed children. A higher prevalence of intestinal infections have been reported among artificially fed infants even in more affluent societies. It is strongly recommended that in any intervention program nutrition education about the value of mothers milk as well as the importance of proper weaning patterns be included.