Abstract
Objectives:
To determine changes and factors associated with child malnutrition, obesity in women and household food insecurity before and after the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic.
Design:
A prospective follow up study.
Setting:
In 2019, the baseline Urban Health and Nutrition Study (UHNS-2019) was conducted in 603 households, which were selected randomly from 30 clusters to represent underserved urban settlements in Colombo. In the present study, 35% of households from the UHNS-2019 cohort were randomly selected for repeat interviews, one year after the baseline study and 6 months after COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka. Height/length and weight of children and women were re-measured, household food insecurity was reassessed, and associated factors were gathered through interviewer administered questionnaires. Differences in measurements at baseline and follow-up studies were compared.
Participants:
A total of 207 households, comprising 127 women and 109 children were included.
Results:
The current prevalence of children with wasting and overweight was higher in the follow-up study than at baseline UHNS-2019 (18.3%vs13.7%;p=0.26 and 8.3%vs3.7%;p=0.12 respectively). There was a decrease in prevalence of child stunting (14.7%vs11.9%;p=0.37). A change was not observed in overall obesity in women, which was around 30.7%. Repeated lockdown was associated with a significant reduction in food security from 57% in UHNS-2019 to 30% in the current study (p<0.001).
Conclusions:
There was an increase in wasting and overweight among children while women had a persistent high prevalence of obesity. This population needs suitable interventions to improve nutrition status of children and women to minimise susceptibility to COVID-19.
Impact of COVID-19 on child malnutrition, obesity in women and household food insecurity in underserved urban settlements in Sri Lanka: a prospective follow up study
