THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF MALAY CHILDREN IN KAMPUNG JENDERAM HILIR, SEP ANG DISTRICT, SELANGOR
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37268/mjphm/vol.3/no.2/art.1301Keywords:
Nutritional status, overweight, stunting, underweight, wasting, Malay children, Kg. Jenderam Hilir, SepangAbstract
This is a cross-sectional study to determine the nutritional status of Malay children aged 6 to 10 years in Kampong]enderam Hilir. A cross sectional study design was used.All households were included in the study. All the 218 Malaysian children aged 6 to 10 years in Kampong J ender am Hilir were included in the study. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Data were analyzed by using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 10. The majority of the children were within normal range for weight-for-age, normal height for age status and weight for height status. However in small proportion of children, there was a persistence of protein-energy malnutrition problems. Overall 11 % were underweight. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of underweight between males and females. The prevalence of overweight and stunting was 5 .3 % and 11.5%. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of stunting in male compared to females. Alth_ough stunting was prevalent in all age groups (4.4% to 19 .6%) a significant higher prevalence was observed in the age group 9 -9 .9 years compared to other age groups (p< 0.05). Wasting was present in 7.6% of the respondents. The 6 -6.9 years age group had the highest wasting prevalence compared to other age groups. The prevalence of wasting was significantly higher in males. In conclusion the overall nutritional status of children aged 6 to IO years old in Kampong J enderam Hilir was satisfactory. However, there was still malnutrition in a small proportion of children. Underweight, stunting and overweight were seen in all age groups. As such there is a need to identify these children and improve their nutritional status.
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