Physical Growth Research Articles

Ahabat Terbaik Anak Application (Nutritional Information for Children Stunting Prevention in the first 1000 days based on Android) using the Waterfall Method

This research aims to help the community in providing information on good nutritional intake to children. By using this application, it is hoped that the community can monitor and optimize children's growth during the first 1000 days, with a focus on stunting prevention. This Sahabat Terbaik Anak app (information about the importance of good nutrition and helps in monitoring children's growth) uses a waterfall model. The system includes an Android mobile app, which allows users to search for articles about children's growth and development according to the month and efficiency while traveling. The four phases of this system are data collection, design, implementation, and testing. The system provides an easy-to-use interface to provide nutrition monitoring, physical growth, and education for parents on the importance of balanced nutritional intake. Children's friends can provide solutions to reduce stunting in children.

Trends and inequalities in anaemia prevalence among children aged 6–59 months in Ghana, 2003–2022

BackgroundAnaemia, characterised by a deficiency in red blood cells or haemoglobin, is a public health issue in Ghana, particularly among children. The prevalence of anaemia in this age group has been a longstanding concern due to its adverse effects on cognitive development, physical growth, and well-being. This study examined the trends and inequalities in anaemia prevalence among children aged 6–59 months in Ghana between 2003 and 2022.MethodsData from the Ghana Demographic Health Survey conducted between 2003 and 2022 was used to analyse the prevalence of anaemia in children aged 6–59 months. The World Health Organization’s Health Equity Assessment Toolkit software calculated several inequality measures, including difference, ratio, population-attributable risk, and population-attributable percentage. An inequality assessment was performed for six stratifiers: child’s age, mother’s economic status, maternal educational level, place of residence, child’s sex, and sub-national region.ResultsAnaemia prevalence among children aged 6–59 months in Ghana declined from 76.1% in 2003 to 48.9% by 2022. The results revealed an age-related inequality in anaemia prevalence among children in Ghana, with younger age group ( 6–11 months) consistently showing higher rates. The age-related inequality Difference was 24.6 percentage points in 2022, indicating that age is crucial to understanding anaemia risk. Economic-related inequality between children of mothers in Quintile 5 (richest) and Quintile 1 (poorest) increased from a Difference of 21.1 percentage points in 2003 to 32.7 percentage points in 2022 highlighting the stark inequalities across wealth quintiles. Education inequality between children of mothers with higher education and no education decreased from a Difference of 29.4 percentage points in 2003 to 25.3 percentage points in 2022, suggesting that children from less educated households are still at higher risk. Place of residence inequality between children of mothers living in urban areas and rural areas increased from a Difference of 12.3 percentage points in 2003 to 14.8 percentage points in 2022 reflecting urban-rural disparities. Sex-related inequality between male and female children decreased from a Difference of -0.3 percentage points in 2003 to -5.5 percentage points in 2022 indicating the absence of inequality based on sex of the child. Lastly, regional inequalities are pronounced, as indicated by an increase in the Difference from 21.2 percentage points in 2003 to 34.0 percentage points in 2022, highlighting that children in certain regions like the Northern and Upper East are more affected by anaemia.ConclusionThe decline in anaemia prevalence among children aged 6–59 months in Ghana, reflects substantial progress; however, notable inequalities persist across age, economic status, education, place of residence, and region. To address these disparities, strategies such as enhancing access to healthcare services in underserved regions, implementing community education programs to raise awareness about nutrition and health, and promoting economic empowerment initiatives can be effective. Additionally, community education can play a crucial role in offsetting the effects of low household education levels, fostering a more informed population that can advocate for better health practices and policies. By addressing these key areas, we can work towards reducing anaemia prevalence and improving child health outcomes across all populations in Ghana.

Beyond Binary: Exploring the Dynamics of Bi-Curiosity Propulsion and Persistence Among Young Women

Sexual identity fails to adhere to the dichotomous models, transcending to a more fluid quality than normative compulsory heterosexuality. The present study investigates the experience of bi-curiosity, focusing on its initiation among young women residing in urban India. Bi-curiosity, a sexual orientation questioning marked by exploratory experiences, is a possible but not a necessary precursor to bisexuality. This qualitative study explores on the psychological and social factors contributing to a bi-curious orientation. It focuses on the subjective processes of development and maintenance of sexual identity questioning. Three organizing themes emerged from the Reflective Thematic Analysis: (a.) Affective Indicators, (b.) Social Experiences, and (c.) Intimacy in friendships. While sexual identity questioning was propelled by more psychological factors, like physical attraction, fantasy, experienced jealousy toward men, and comfort with the same sex, social and environmental factors contribute significantly. Individual experiences with patriarchy, social attitudes toward same-sex relationships, and their representation on media platforms often reinforce the process. Another important contributor was women’s close friendships with the same sex, which are sites for physical closeness, emotional intimacy, and personal growth, and share these characteristics with romantic relationships. These factors emerged as important reinforcers to the development and maintenance of sexual identity questioning.

Comparison of Physical Growth Between Low Birth Weight and Normal Birth Weight Babies Aged Between 24-36 Months Born in a Selected Hospital of Dhaka, Bangladesh

This study investigates the physical growth disparities between Low Birth Weight (LBW) and Normal Birth Weight (NBW) babies aged 24-36 months in a selected hospital in Dhaka. The research sample comprised 200 babies, evenly split between LBW (birth weight < 2500 grams) and NBW (birth weight ≥ 2500 grams) groups. Physical growth parameters including weight, height and head circumference were measured and analyzed using descriptive statistics and comparative tests. The findings reveal significant differences in all measured parameters between LBW and NBW infants. LBW babies exhibited lower mean values in weight (11.5 kg vs. 13.0 kg), height (85.0 cm vs. 89.0 cm) and head circumference (48.0 cm vs. 49.0 cm) compared to NBW babies. Statistical analyses confirmed these differences to be significant (p < 0.05), highlighting the persistent impact of birth weight on early childhood growth. These results underscore the importance of targeted healthcare interventions for LBW infants to mitigate growth disparities and promote optimal development. Early childhood growth failure in LBW infants has long-term implications for health and developmental outcomes, necessitating comprehensive healthcare strategies that include nutritional support, growth monitoring and developmental assessments. By addressing these challenges, healthcare providers and policymakers can improve the long-term health and well-being of LBW infants, ensuring they have the opportunity to achieve their full developmental potential. This study contributes valuable insights to the field of maternal and child health in Bangladesh, guiding future research and healthcare initiatives aimed at supporting LBW infants and reducing health disparities.

Investigating the Prevalence of Malnutrition and Its Relationship with the Educational Status of Elementary School Students in Zahedan, Iran

Background: Malnutrition and improper nutrition may lead to physical and mental growth disorder and cognitive function. This study aims to determine the prevalence of malnutrition and its relationship with educational status among primary school children in Zahedan, Iran. Methods: During a cross-sectional study with a multi-stage random sampling method of 780 boy and girl students, first, second, and third grades of elementary school were included to study. Demographic and anthropometric of students were collected based on the sample size. Malnutrition was assessed according to World Health Organization indicators for the relevant age group. This assessment was based on body mass index (BMI) for age, height for age, and weight for age. Results: The prevalence of malnutrition was severe wasting, wasting, overweight, and obesity which were 0.8, 4.6, 6.4, and 5%, and severe underweight and underweight which were 0.9 and 4.7%, respectively. Severe stunting and stunting were observed in 0.3 and 2.8%, respectively. A statistically significant relationship was found between BMI for age, height for age and weight for age and educational status (P<0.05). Moreover, the educational status of students showed a statistically significant relationship with first and second-grade gender, birth rank, and Parent’s job and education (P<0.0001). Conclusion: Different forms of malnutrition among the students can negatively affect their performance, especially their educational status. Therefore, proper nutrition and increasing nutritional knowledge of primary school children and parents may help to prevent the problem.

Impacts of alfalfa nutrient concentrate on pellet physical attributes, growth performance, metabolism and nutritional quality of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

This study addresses the escalating demand for aquatic feed by exploring the potential of alfalfa nutrient concentrate (ANC) as feed ingredient for rainbow trout. Test diets contained varying ANC levels (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) to replace fishmeal (32% in the 0% ANC diet) to achieve equal digestible protein and were processed using a cooking extrusion method. Analysis of feed pellets showed that pellet density increased with ANC levels (P < 0.001), resulting in sinking pellets at 20% ANC. Water stability and durability were improved while oil leakage decreased with increasing ANC levels (P < 0.05). Two feeding trials were conducted to test the diets in flow-through water systems with three replicates per diet. The first 10-week trial evaluated their impact on feeding, fecal physical quality, and the apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) of dietary nutrients in rainbow trout (initial body weight , 18.0 ± 0.2 g). ANC inclusion did not impact the palatability and satiety feed intake of the fish (P > 0.05). However, the ADC of dry matter and phosphorus significantly decreased in fish fed the 20% ANC diet (P < 0.05). The second 9-week trial investigated the growth performance, nutrition quality, and metabolism of rainbow trout (initial body weight, 19.0 ± 0.2 g). While all fish exhibited substantial growth, fish fed diets with 10% to 20% ANC displayed lower specific growth rate and higher feed conversion ratio compared to those fed with 0% or 5% ANC (P < 0.05). The whole body protein content was higher in fish fed 5% ANC compared to all other treatments (P = 0.030). The biochemical parameters of plasma were similar across treatments, except for a decrease in plasma phosphorus levels in fish fed a 10% ANC diet compared to those fed a 0% ANC diet. (P = 0.033). Significant changes were observed in liver metabolism including tricarboxylic acid cycle, amino acid and energy metabolism pathways in fish fed the 20% ANC diet versus the 0% ANC diet (P < 0.05). These results demonstrate that ANC inclusion improved pellet physical quality without impairing feeding behavior and nutritional quality of the fish but inclusion ≥10% in the diet reduced fish growth. This study offers the first comprehensive assessment of the potential of ANC used in fish feed involving feed management, feeding evaluation, and the biological response.

Intrinsically robust and scalable biofilm segmentation under diverse physical growth conditions

Intrinsically robust and scalable biofilm segmentation under diverse physical growth conditions

A systematic review of parenting and feeding practices, children’s feeding behavior and growth stunting in Asian countries

ABSTRACT This systematic review evaluates studies focusing on parenting and feeding practices, children’s feeding behavior, and growth stunting in Asian countries. Eight electronic databases were searched to screen studies published between Jan 2015 and May 2021. There were contradictory findings related to gender differences in growth stunting and factors that reinforce/facilitate or inhibit acquisition of optimum growth in children. Theme of parenting practices showed that time spent on childcare, traditional beliefs about child-care feeding and responsive feeding were also contributing factors. Amidst economic improvement, political, social changes, and worldwide execution of various nutritional programs, stunting continues to be relentlessly persistent and widespread in Asia. Undernutrition disturbs areas of the mind involved in reasoning, reminiscence, locomotor skills and also an adverse influence on the physical and psychological growth of children and ensuing learning capabilities. Stunted children have more anxiety and depression and lower self-esteem than non-stunted children. A public health strategy is required to: (i) properly examine stunting with time through collaborated efforts of community members and various sectors, (ii) tackle malnutrition with steps to enhance maternal nutrition during pregnancy, infant feeding practices and (iii) involvement of effective multi-sectoral partnership programs for management of stunting.

The Influence of Parenting Styles on the Early Childhood Development at Tkk Kasih Mulia Cimahi

Early childhood development is a crucial period in the formation of a child's physical, cognitive, and emotional growth. Parental upbringing plays a significant role in supporting a child's development during this phase.** This study aims to analyze the influence of parenting styles on the early childhood development at Taman Kanak-Kanak (TKK) Kasih Mulia Cimahi. The background of this research is based on the fact that many parents do not fully understand how the parenting styles they adopt affect their child's development, especially during the early years, which are critical for the growth of various aspects of a child's development. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between different types of parenting styles—authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful—and their effects on the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development of children. A quantitative method with a survey approach was employed for this research. Data were collected through questionnaires distributed to 50 parents whose children attend TKK Kasih Mulia Cimahi, along with direct observation of the children's development. The data analysis technique used was regression analysis to determine the influence of parenting styles on various aspects of child development. The results showed that the authoritative parenting style had the most positive impact on all aspects of child development, particularly in social and cognitive growth. Conversely, authoritarian and permissive parenting styles tended to have negative effects, especially in the emotional and social development of the children. Neglectful parenting had the most detrimental effect on the physical and emotional development of the children. The conclusion of this study is that parental upbringing significantly influences early childhood development. Parents who adopt an authoritative parenting style are more likely to have children who grow and develop optimally. The recommendation is for parents to better understand the importance of applying balanced parenting, such as the authoritative style, which can holistically support a child's development. Additionally, schools are encouraged to provide education to parents on the importance of parenting in supporting early childhood development.

Effects of random ferroelectric and dielectric phase distributions on junctionless ferroelectric field effect transistors

In this study, we comprehensively investigated the effects of random ferroelectric (FE) and dielectric (DE) phase distributions on junctionless ferroelectric field-effect transistors (JL-FeFETs). The Poisson–Voronoi tessellation (PVT) algorithm, which corresponds to the physical growth mechanism, was used to obtain grain nucleation in the ferroelectric layer. The simulation results demonstrated that as the probability of FE phase decreased from 80% to 40%, the standard deviation of the memory window (σMW) increased from 62.4 to 99.5 mV, and the possibility of forming a blocking current path from the source to the drain increased, which degraded the memory window (MW). The simulation results indicated that decreasing the gate length and width increased device variations. Furthermore, σMW decreased from 84.5 to 58.9 mV as the grain size decreased from 5 to 3 nm.

Building An Android-Based Application For Teenage Women's Reproductive Health Education

Background: Improper nutritional intake during adolescence can cause health problems, such as: impaired physical growth, increased risk of iron deficiency (Iron Deficiency Anemia), decreased intellectual capacity, impaired bone health, impaired sexual organ function, impaired concentration and performance at school, eating disorders and obesity, as well as malnutrition, but teenagers' knowledge about nutrition is very limited. Teenagers easily adapt to digital literacy. Providing digital interventions can have a positive impact on various aspects of health so that efforts to empower teenagers through increasing health promotion and early detection of adolescent health problems digitally are growing rapidly. Aim: The aim of this research is to explore the needs of young women for Android-based nutritional and reproductive health educational applications. Method: The qualitative research method is in-depth interviews via the Zoom application, WhatsApp video call, or WhatsApp voice call. Result: The results of qualitative research show that young women prefer educational media that is easy and fast in providing health information so that educational efforts via smartphones, namely Android-based applications, are an effective solution in providing precise and accurate information about nutritional intake and reproductive health. Keywords: Reproductive Health, Young Women, Application

The effectiveness of the physical education curriculum following the Sports Club model on the physical development of high school students in Vietnam

Background and Study Aim. The physical development of high school students is often hindered by the limitations of traditional physical education programs, which may not fully engage students or promote balanced physical growth. In light of these concerns, the need to explore alternative educational models that can enhance students' physical development has become evident. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the potential effectiveness of a physical education curriculum following the Sports Club model in improving the physical development of high school students. Material and Methods. A total of 84 female 10th-grade students participated in the study. They were divided into two groups: an experimental group of 42 students following the Sports Club model and a control group of 42 students following the current physical education curriculum. The experiment lasted for 17 weeks. Both groups completed initial and final physical fitness tests. These tests included the 30-second sit-up test (to assess core strength), the 30-meter sprint test (to measure speed), the 4 × 10-meter shuttle run test (to evaluate agility), the standing long jump test (to measure explosive leg power), and the 5-minute running field test (to assess endurance). Results. The female students in the experimental group demonstrated greater physical development compared to the control group in all five assessment tests. The experimental group showed the most significant improvement in the 30-second sit-up test, with a growth rate of 26.71%. The lowest growth was observed in the 5-minute running field test, at 9.92%. In contrast, the control group showed its highest improvement in the 30-second sit-up test, with a growth rate of 9.44%. However, there was minimal to no improvement in the 4 × 10-meter shuttle run and the 5-minute running field test for the control group. Conclusions. The Sports Club model improved students' physical fitness more effectively compared to the current curriculum, offering greater benefits in all tested areas. It is recommended that teachers further integrate and refine the implementation of the Sports Club model in future physical education programs to enhance teaching effectiveness.

Plasma and breast milk adipokines in women across the first year postpartum and their association with maternal depressive symptoms and infant neurodevelopment: Protocol for the APPLE prospective cohort study.

Adiponectin and leptin play important roles in the central nervous system. During the postpartum period, there is a need for a better understanding of the relationship between these cytokines and the neurological development of the infant, as well as their influence on preventing maternal depressive symptoms. To assess the correlation between adiponectin and leptin in maternal plasma and breast milk and their association with: infant neurodevelopment at 6 and 12 months of age; and maternal mental health over the first year postpartum. Prospective cohort study with four follow-up. Mothers and their newborns are recruited within the first 15 days postpartum (baseline). Follow-up visits occur at 2, 6, and 12 months postpartum. Visits include blood and breast milk collection, application of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Beck Depression Inventory to assess maternal mental health, application of the Bayley-III scale for infant developmental assessment, maternal and infant anthropometry and body composition, evaluation of reproductive history, mother-infant bonding, breastfeeding, consumption of ultra-processed foods, sleep quality, and socio-economic and demographic data. The research received funds in August 2022, and participant recruitment began in September 2022. The sample size will consist of 95 mother-child pairs. As of September 2023, 68 participants have been recruited. The project will provide insights into the association between adiponectin and leptin with postpartum depression and infant neurodevelopment, ultimately promoting improved care and quality of life for these groups. Additionally, it will provide data on the type of delivery, infant physical growth, maternal and infant body composition changes, sleep quality, consumption of ultra-processed foods, and maternal metabolic health, including vitamin D metabolites, oxidized polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolites, phospholipid species and triacylglycerols, which are of significant relevance to public health and, when interconnected, may yield important results and contribute to the existing literature. Name of the registry: Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry (ReBec). Registration number: RBR-9hcby8c.

Positive Deviance in Nutritional Practices for Two-Year-Olds in Poor Fisherman Families in the Belawan Health Center Area, 2022

The problem of malnutrition is still the main problem faced in human resource development. The problem of growth and development of Baduta is a serious problem because at this age the process of physical and intellectual growth and development is critical. Malnutrition problems mostly occur in poor families but are not caused by poor families who have well-nourished children. The Belawan Community Health Center working area is one of the community health centers with the highest number of cases of malnutrition in Medan City. To overcome this, a program is needed that is believed to be effective and sustainable. One of the existing programs to overcome the problem of malnutrition and malnutrition is positive deviation. This research aims to identify positive behavior in feeding (type of food, processing of food ingredients, mealtimes and method of feeding) of toddlers who are well-nourished in poor fishing families in the Belawan Community Health Center Working Area in 2022. This research method is qualitative research with a narrative approach. Researchers studied individual lives by asking one or several individuals to tell stories about their lives related to positive behavior in feeding well-nourished animals. This information is then retold by the researcher in a narrative chronology. The findings of this research indicate that addressing nutritional challenges in children can be effectively achieved by leveraging the potential and resources within the community. This is done through the identification of positive deviant behaviors, particularly those related to beneficial feeding practices. These practices encompass aspects such as the types of food provided, the methods of food preparation, the timing of meals, and the approach to food administration. Keep up the great work! The way you’re thinking about integrating community strengths is spot-on for creating sustainable solutions.

MUSE: an open-access platform for urban expansion simulation with multitype patch generation engine and multilevel morphology regulation

Urban expansion models (UEMs) help unfold the mechanism, future pathways, and relevant repercussions of urban landscape dynamics. Although a plethora of UEMs have been developed, the field of open-access modeling platform for urban expansion simulation still presents gaps in terms of representing urban development events, regulating multilevel urban morphologies, and reflecting underlying regularities of physical urban growth. This study develops an open-access Multiengine Urban Expansion Simulation (MUSE) platform together with software that addresses some of these limitations. MUSE employs patch-based concepts and different patch generation engines to represent urban development events of distinctive types, enabling control over spatial morphology at landscape, class and patch levels. Moreover, MUSE incorporates two general regularities on urban development waves and urban diffusion and coalescence to govern physical urban expansion processes. Experiments in two cities examine MUSE’s ability in simulating realistic urban dynamics, and a series of synthetic experiments verify the operational behavior of the patch generation engines. These experiments show that MUSE can simulate a range of urban expansion types, including infill, edge growth and leapfrog expansion, and various morphologies, such as aggregated, sprawl, fragmented and compact. MUSE can empower practitioners to better project, analyze and understand complex urbanization dynamics.

Secular Trends in Physical Growth Among Peruvian Children and Adolescents Living at High Altitudes.

We aim (1) to examine secular trends in height, weight, and waist circumference (WC) among Peruvian children and adolescents living in the city of Junín and (2) to compare their growth status with the World Health Organization (WHO) and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reference data. The sample included 2874 Peruvians (n = 1681 in the 2009 cohort and n = 1193 in the 2019 cohort) aged 6-16 years from the district of Junín (4107 m of altitude). Height, weight, and WC were measured using standardized protocols. Within each sex, a two-way between-subjects analysis of variance-age, and cohort as main factors and age-by-cohort as the interaction-was used to test for differences in height, weight, and WC. STATA 17 software was used in all statistical analyses. Height revealed a positive secular trend among girls, aged 6-11 years, and among boys up to 14 years of age. Similar positive secular trends in weight and WC were found across all age groups in both boys and girls. Compared to North American peers, children in the 2009 cohort were shorter, lighter, and had a smaller WC. For weight and WC, the 2019 cohort overlapped the 50th percentile across all age groups (except for 16-year-old girls). Both boys' and girls' height, weight, and WC showed positive secular trends between 2009 and 2019, with statistically significant differences varying across age groups. Peruvian youth of both sexes were shorter and lighter than their North American peers.

Parental Communication Patterns Towards Children with Special Needs During Puberty in Malalayang District, Manado City

Children are a gift that must be guarded, cared for and educated. Children who are born in a healthy or normal condition are the pride of parents. However, in reality there are still parents who have children who experience obstacles, disorders and delays in mental and physical growth called Children with Special Needs. The challenge is when children start to enter puberty, children will enter adolescence at this age, of course it will affect their physical and mental, for example, girls are marked by menstruation or menstruation. Conditions like this affect not only children but also parents. Because automatically parents must go directly to help. Unlike boys, physical changes do not have a big impact. Based on the characteristics of psychological growth, ABK is actually almost the same as normal children, for example, emotionally, the instinct to sympathize with others or the opposite sex is there. It's just that self-control is limited. For that, children with special needs in adolescence must continue to receive supervision from parents who must be more intensive in accompanying and even controlling children's actions. Based on the above phenomenon, the researcher is interested in conducting further research and this study is entitled Interpersonal Communication Patterns of Parents and Children with Special Needs During Puberty in Malalayang District. The aim is to find out how the communication patterns of parents who have children with special needs with the type of intellectual disability. Using the theory of Interpersonal Communication from Joseph Devito using qualitative methods and purposive sampling techniques where the informants needed in this study are parents who have adolescent children with special needs in Malalayang District, Manado City.

Touch: A Review of the Infant-Caregiver Relationship in the Neonatal Field

Touch is a domain of enormous importance with implications in development, from birth, and across the lifespan. This work aims to review touch implications within infant-caregiver interaction. A non-systematic review of the literature was performed to assess the relevance of touch in the neonatal period, on attachment, and in child development. The review was conducted on PubMed database, in May 2023 using the following keywords: “infant”, “child”, “baby”, “newborn”, “neonatal”, “touch”, “contact”, “tactile”, and “attachment”. In the neonatal period, close skin contact facilitates caregiver sensitivity and responsiveness, promotes parent-infant reciprocity, reduces psychological distress both in caregiver and infants, and regulates the infant’s physiological systems (circadian rhythm, autonomic regulation). Touch also plays a crucial role in attachment by contributing to synchrony and self-regulation abilities, since secure attachment promotes learning of emotional regulation, social skills, and behavioural organization. Early sensory experiences are critical to developmental dimensions such as cognitive, motor, and socio-emotional, and influence physical growth rate. Concluding, in neonatal care services, touch should be systematically addressed in routine appointments. Within the field of infant-caregiver interactions, there is an urgent need to create a reliable tool for tactile assessment, allowing clear interpretations and the development of target interventions.

Nutritional Assessment Based on Mid-upper Arm Circumference Among Tribal Preschool Children of Three Distinct Ecological Zones of India

Undernutrition among infants and children retards the physical and cognitive growth and increases susceptibility to infections and diseases. Educational attainment and productivity of children get adversely affected by undernutrition, NFHS (2019–2020) and IIPS (2021) found the prevalence of undernutrition indicators to be high among the under-five children of the nation and tribal children to be in a more vulnerable condition. Mean mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) is a quick, simple and precise screening tool to use in large-scale community-based nutritional programme. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of undernutrition based on MUAC among three tribes of three distinct ecological zones of India, namely Bhil Tribe (Desert ecology), Dhodia tribe (Coastal ecology) and Kinnaura tribe (Himalayan ecology). The present cross-sectional study consists of 985 tribal children (509 boys and 476 girls) belonging to the age group 0–1 through 5+ years (below six years). Z-score was computed using WHO (2006) recommended age and sex-specific cutoff points for MUAC and the prevalence of undernutrition was assessed for children of below five years of age. MUAC has been found to have significant age difference among all communities ( p &lt; .001). Prevalence of undernutrition was found to be the highest among the Bhil tribe, the one residing in the desert ecology (41.03%) followed by Dhodia (18.06%) and Kinnaura tribe (12.16%). Among Bhil and Kinnaura children, prevalence of undernutrition was higher among the girls, while the Kinnaura boys manifested higher prevalence of undernutrition in comparison to their counterpart. Significant ( p &lt; .01) sex difference in undernutrition prevalence was found only in case of Bhil tribe (boys: 33.33%, girls: 48.02%). The prevalence of undernutrition significantly differs among the tribes of three distinct ecological zones ( p &lt; .001). The nutritional status of the tribal children, particularly that of the Bhil children, was unsatisfactory. To improve the nutritional wellbeing of the tribal population of the nation, studies at regular intervals focusing on the causes responsible for nutritional status are needed.

Community attitudes toward tourism and quality of life: a case study of Palangan village, Iran

Community perception is essential for influencing the physical, social, and environmental growth of a region and is key to achieving a high Quality of Life (QOL). Tourism serves as a common means of introducing outsiders to the area where the community lives. Embracing tourism in remote locations like small towns or rural areas can be difficult, and the success of tourism hinges on community attitudes towards it. The community's engagement and approval of tourism are dependent on the benefits such as how tourism improves their QOL in both the short. Therefore, this study aims to explore the local community's perceptions on how tourism influences various aspects of QOL. A survey of 160 households in Palangan Village was conducted to collect primary data, using a conceptual model with 16 indices to evaluate QOL. The findings indicate that the local community generally has a positive perception of the effects of tourism, especially on key QOL components. Civic and generative well-being are considered more significant than other aspects of QOL. Analysis of the data reveals differences in perception across the 16 QOL indices. The highest average ratings were for institutional participation (3.476), quality of employment (3.456), and individual capability (3.203), while the lowest ratings were for standard of living (1.883), social solidarity (2.289), and environmental resource quality (2.725). For instance, the institutional participation index received an average response rating of 3.476. Additionally, the dispersion coefficient index highlighted notable variations in perception, particularly for satisfaction with living conditions (0.488) and standard of living (0.488). Conversely, employment quality (0.360), institutional cooperation (0.385), and freedom of choice had the lowest dispersion coefficients (0.386). Other indices showed moderate levels of dispersion and distribution of perception. In conclusion, these results underscore the significance of community perception in tourism development and its affect on QOL. They also underscore the importance of strategic planning and balanced development to ensure that all aspects of QOL benefit from the expanding tourism sector, leading to a more sustainable and harmonious community.