Abstract
Background: Nutritional disorders still represent a major problem faced by developing countries. Surveying such problems is a step towards planning proper interventions, which contributes significantly to declines in under-five mortality rates. Aims: To study the state of nutritional trends in children under five years of age, attending a primary healthcare center in Al Shoula district, Iraq, in 2006 and 2012. Demographic features and feeding practices that may have had an effect on the nutritional status of children were also studied. Subjects and methods: Two cross-sectional surveys were conducted on children aged two to five years, in a primary healthcare center in Baghdad. Children attending for immunization were included (500 in 2006 and 570 in 2012), their mothers were interviewed, and the body mass index of the child was calculated. Children who were overweight and obese were identified, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention charts, as those suffering from stunting. Nutritional parameters were compared between the two study groups, using the chi-square test, as well as various epidemiological factors that may have affected the outcomes. Results: The prevalence of both types of nutritional disorders (stunting and overweight and obesity) declined remarkably according to the 2012 survey; overweight and obesity declined from 20% to 7.2%, while stunting decreased from 51.2% to 30.9%. The age group showing the highest rate of improvement were the four to five year olds, as well as children from lower-income families. A higher rate of breastfeeding was reported in 2012, and breastfed babies suffered the least from both types of nutritional disorders, in both study groups. Overall, the study findings showed a high prevalence of stunting (30.9%), together with a significant level of overweight and obesity (7.2%). Conclusion: Children in Iraq suffer from high rates of stunting. With a moderately high rate of obesity, there is an urgent need to evaluate local data available and plan for an active intervention to combat these nutritional problems.
Highlights
In addition we provide an accountability mechanism for the commitments made by the 96 signatories of the Nutrition for Growth Summit, monitoring and assessing their self-reported progress against those public declarations of intent to act for nutrition
To identify data gaps beyond the World Health Assembly (WHA) indicators, we posed the question: In what areas are data gaps leading us to fail to prioritize the issues that need to be prioritized and the actions that need to be taken to reduce malnutrition? We identified three nutrition-status indicators—anemia, overweight/obesity, and low birth weight— where progress is slow and data gaps could be holding back action
There are data on iron–folic acid supplementation during pregnancy, on practices related to breastfeeding promotion, and on practices relating to complementary feeding programs
Summary
This report was produced by an Independent Expert Group (IEG) empowered by the Global Nutrition Report Stakeholder Group. The writing was a collective effort by the IEG members, supplemented by additional analysts and writers They are all listed here: Lawrence Haddad, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC; Endang Achadi, University of Indonesia, Jakarta; Mohamed Ag Bendech, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome; Arti Ahuja, Women and Child Development, Odisha, India; Komal Bhatia, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, UK; Zulfiqar Bhutta, Center for Global Child Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada, and Center of Excellence in Women and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan; Monika Blössner, World Health Organization, Geneva; Elaine Borghi, World Health Organization, Geneva; Esi Colecraft, University of Ghana, Accra; Mercedes de Onis, World Health Organization, Geneva; Kamilla Eriksen, University of Cambridge, UK; Jessica Fanzo, Columbia University, New York; Patrizia Fracassi, Scaling Up Nutrition Secretariat, Geneva; Elizabeth Kimani, African Population and Health Research Centre, Nairobi; Eunice Nago, University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin; Julia Krasevec, United Nations Children’s Fund, New York; Holly Newby, United Nations Children’s Fund, New York; Rachel Nugent, University of Washington, Seattle; Stineke Oenema, Interchurch organization for development cooperation (ICCO) Alliance, Utrecht, Netherlands; Yves Martin-Prével, Institut de recherche pour le développement, Marseille, France; Judith Randel, Development Initiatives, Bristol, UK; Jennifer Requejo, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, World Health Organization, Geneva; Tara Shyam, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, UK; Emorn Udomkesmalee, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; and K Srinath Reddy, Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi.
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