scholarly journals Low food and nutrition literacy (FNLIT): a barrier to dietary diversity and nutrient adequacy in school age children

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Azam Doustmohammadian ◽  
Nasrin Omidvar ◽  
Nastaran Keshavarz-Mohammadi ◽  
Hassan Eini-Zinab ◽  
Maryam Amini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Nutrient Adequacy ◽  
Food And Nutrition

scholarly journals Low Food and Nutrition Literacy (FNLIT): A barrier to dietary diversity and nutrient adequacy in school age children

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azam Doustmohammadian ◽  
Nasrin Omidvar ◽  
Nastaran Keshavarz Mohammadi ◽  
Hassan Eini-Zinab ◽  
Maryam Amini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Dietary Quality ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Household Food Security ◽  
Calorie Intake ◽  
School Age ◽  
Nutrient Adequacy ◽  
Food And Nutrition

Abstract Background: Increasing prevalence of overweight/obesity in children and adolescents over the past two decades has made it a public health concern. Knowledge, skills and critical decision making about food choices and dietary intake, known as food and nutrition literacy (FNLIT) could be one of the keys to improving the outcomes of future interventions in this area. This study aims to assess the relationship between FNLIT and dietary diversity and nutrient adequacy in school-age children in Iran.Methods: This cross-sectional study was undertaken on 803 Primary school students aged 10-12 years in Tehran, Iran. Socio-economic and household food security characteristics, as well as three 24-hour dietary recalls (two week-days and one weekend) were collected through interviewing students and their mothers/caregivers. FNLIT was measured by a self-administered locally designed and validated questionnaire. Number of servings from food groups and diet diversity score, as well as nutrient adequacy were calculated and compared with recommendations. The association between dietary quality factors and FNLIT were evaluated by logistic regression analysis. Results: Students with low FNLIT were less likely to meet daily recommended portion of vegetable (OR=2.83, 95% CI=1.12-7.17), meats (OR=2.37, 95% CI=1.01-5.55) and fruits (OR=2.42, 95% CI=1.38-4.25) (after adjusting for confounding factors, including demographics, Socioeconomics, physical activity, calorie intake and food security). Moreover, low FNLIT subscales were associated with higher odds of low diversity of fruits (OR=3.82, 95% CI=1.01-14.42), dairies (OR=19.5, 95% CI=2.09-182.38), and meats (OR=2.4, 95% CI=1.31-4.40). low FNLIT and its subscales were associated with odds of lower level of NAR of protein (OR=2.02, 95% CI=1.02-8.95), calcium (OR=2.2, 95% CI=1.16-4.49), and vitamin B3 (OR=3.65, 95% CI=1.05-12.69), as well as probability of lower level of MAR (OR=2.91, 95% CI=1.03-8.23, OR=3.12, 95% CI=1.38-7.05), and NAR of vitamin B9 (OR=2.98, 95% CI=1.04-8.51), and odds of lower level of NAR of vitamin B6 (OR=2.30, 95% CI=1.10-4.83). Conclusion: Improving FNLIT in children may help to improve their eating habits and dietary quality for the benefits of good health.

Nutritional Status Among School-Age Children of Bangladeshi Tea Garden Workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 424-429
Author(s):  
Mohd Shamim Iqbal ◽  
Amanda C. Palmer ◽  
Jillian Waid ◽  
S. M. Mustafizur Rahman ◽  
Md. M. Islam Bulbul ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Underserved Populations ◽  
World Health ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
The Past ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Plasma Retinol

Background: While considerable progress has been made in reducing undernutrition in Bangladesh, regional disparities are known to exist, and certain population subgroups may lag behind. Objective: To characterize nutritional status among school-age children in a historically marginalized population of Bangladesh. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional assessment of children attending 14 nongovernmental organization-operated schools serving the tea estate population in Kulaura Upazila, Sylhet Division. We randomly selected 168 children from a population of 418 whose parents attended school-organized Parent–Teacher Association meetings. Parents provided consent and data on household food consumption in the past week, foods consumed by children in the past 24 hours, and household food insecurity. We drew venous blood from assenting children for the analysis of hemoglobin and plasma retinol, C-reactive protein, and α1-acid glycoprotein. Children were classified as stunted, underweight, or thin based on comparisons with the World Health Organization standards for height-for-age, weight-for-age, or body mass index-for-age, respectively. Results: Food insecurity was highly prevalent, with ∼85% of households affected. Roughly half of children had low dietary diversity. Prevalence estimates for stunting, underweight, and thinness were 32%, 50%, and 49%, respectively. Approximately 60% of children had a hemoglobin concentration <11 g/dL. The mean (±SD) plasma retinol concentration was 0.79 μmol/L (±0.23 μmol/L), with 34% deficient using a 0.70 μmol/L cutoff. Conclusions: A heightened focus on tracking progress in underserved populations and appropriately targeted programming will be critical as Bangladesh seeks to accelerate progress toward global development goals for nutrition.

scholarly journals Nutritional status and dietary diversity of school-age children living with HIV: a cross-sectional study in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junko Yasuoka ◽  
Siyan Yi ◽  
Sumiyo Okawa ◽  
Sovannary Tuot ◽  
Makoto Murayama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Phnom Penh ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
The Past ◽  
Living With Hiv

Abstract Background: HIV/AIDS continues to be a major public health concern for children. Each day, worldwide, approximately 440 children became newly infected with HIV, and 270 children died from AIDS-related causes in 2018. Poor nutrition has been associated with accelerated disease progression, and sufficient dietary diversity is considered a key to improve children’s nutritional status. Therefore, this study aims to 1) examine nutritional status of school-age children living with HIV in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and 2) identify factors associated with their nutritional status, especially taking their dietary diversity into consideration. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2018 within the catchment area of the National Pediatric Hospital, Cambodia. Data from 298 children and their caregivers were included in the analyses. Using semi-structured questionnaires, face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect data regarding sociodemographic characteristics, quality of life, and dietary diversity. To assess children’s nutritional status, body weight and height were measured. Viral load and duration of antiretroviral therapy (ART) were collected from clinical records. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with stunting and wasting. Results: Of 298 children, nearly half (46.6%) were stunted, and 13.1% were wasted. The mean number of food groups consumed by the children in the past 24 hours was 4.6 out of 7 groups. Factors associated with children’s stunting were age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 2.166, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.151, 4.077), household wealth (AOR 0.543, 95%CI: 0.299, 0.986), duration of receiving ART (AOR 0.510, 95%CI: 0.267, 0.974), and having disease symptoms during the past one year (AOR 1.871, 95%CI: 1.005, 3.480). The only factor associated with wasting was being male (AOR 5.304, 95%CI: 2.210, 12.728). Conclusions: Prevalence of stunting was more than double that of non-infected school-age children living in urban areas in Cambodia. This highlights the importance of conducting nutritional intervention programs, especially tailored for children living with HIV in the country. Although dietary diversity was not significantly associated with children’s nutritional status in this study, the findings will contribute to implementing future nutritional interventions more efficiently by indicating children who are most in need of such interventions in Cambodia.

Development and validation of a food and nutrition literacy questionnaire for Chinese school-age children

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tan Liu ◽  
Xiao Su ◽  
Niuniu Li ◽  
Jing Sun ◽  
Guansheng Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Exploratory Factor Analysis ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
Chinese School ◽  
Core Components

Abstract Background : This study aimed to develop and validate a Food and Nutrition Literacy Questionnaire for Chinese School-age Children (FNLQ-SC). Methods : A comprehensive literature review and a qualitative study were initially performed to identify food and nutrition literacy dimensions and core components. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 4359 school-age children, and the junior middle school students were used to analyze the reliability and validity (n=2452). The reliability of the questionnaire was determined by internal consistency. The construct validity was assessed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and the content validity was assessed by Pearson correlation coefficient. Results : By literature review and qualitative methods, 19 core components of FNLQ-SC were developed, including five dimensions of food and nutrition knowledge, the ability of access, selection, preparing of food and healthy eating. The overall FNLQ-SC questionnaire had high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.698). The exploratory factor analysis of skill components extracted 5 factors which were included in the conceptual framework, but a little different model, and cumulative contribution of variance accounted to 50.60％. The commonality was more than 0.20 for all components. The Pearson correlation coefficients between dimensions and total questionnaire were from 0.370 to 0.877. For all 4395 students, the average FNLQ-SC score of all participants was 61.91 ± 9.22, the score of knowledge and understanding was higher than that of skill dimensions. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated not only the social demographic characteristics (girls, only child, non-resident in school, urban registered permanent residence, in a more affluent family, and cared by their parents/grandparents with a higher education level), but also the home food environment were the predictors of food and nutrition literacy in school-age children (R 2 =0.226, F =81.401, P <0.05). Conclusion : The developed Food and Nutrition Literacy Questionnaire (FNLQ-SC) had good reliability, and it could potentially be a useful instrument for assessing food and nutrition literacy for Chinese school-age children.

scholarly journals Nutritional status and dietary diversity of school-age children living with HIV: a cross sectional study in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junko Yasuoka ◽  
Siyan Yi ◽  
Sumiyo Okawa ◽  
Sovannary Tuot ◽  
Makoto Murayama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Phnom Penh ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
The Past ◽  
Living With Hiv

Abstract Background: HIV/AIDS continues to be a major public health concern for children. Each day, worldwide, approximately 440 children became newly infected with HIV, and 270 children died from AIDS-related causes in 2018. Poor nutrition has been associated with accelerated disease progression, and sufficient dietary diversity is considered a key to improve children’s nutritional status. Therefore, this study aims to 1) examine nutritional status of school-age children living with HIV in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and 2) identify factors associated with their nutritional status, especially taking their dietary diversity into consideration.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2018 within the catchment area of the National Pediatric Hospital, Cambodia. Data from 298 children and their caregivers were included in the analyses. Using semi-structured questionnaires, face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect data regarding sociodemographic characteristics, quality of life, and dietary diversity. To assess children’s nutritional status, body weight and height were measured. Viral load and duration of antiretroviral therapy (ART) were collected from clinical records. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with stunting and wasting.Results: Of 298 children, nearly half (46.6%) were stunted, and 13.1% were wasted. The mean number of food groups consumed by the children in the past 24 hours was 4.6 out of 7 groups. Factors associated with children’s stunting were age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 2.166, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.151, 4.077), household wealth (AOR 0.543, 95%CI: 0.299, 0.986), duration of receiving ART (AOR 0.510, 95%CI: 0.267, 0.974), and having disease symptoms during the past one year (AOR 1.871, 95%CI: 1.005, 3.480). The only factor associated with wasting was being male (AOR 5.304, 95%CI: 2.210, 12.728).Conclusions: Prevalence of stunting was more than double that of non-infected school-age children living in urban areas in Cambodia. This highlights the importance of conducting nutritional intervention programs, especially tailored for children living with HIV in the country. Although dietary diversity was not significantly associated with children’s nutritional status in this study, the findings will contribute to implementing future nutritional interventions more efficiently by indicating children who are most in need of such interventions in Cambodia.

Food and Nutrition Literacy Questionnaire for Chinese School-age Children

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tan Liu ◽  
Xiao Su ◽  
Niuniu Li ◽  
Jing Sun ◽  
Guansheng Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
Chinese School

scholarly journals Dietary diversity among school age children in Merawi town, Amhara region, Ethiopia, 2018: a community based cross-sectional study

2020 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tilahun Tewabe ◽  
Amare Belachew ◽  
Yihun Miskir ◽  
Getnet Mekuria
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Factors Associated

Abstract Background Malnutrition with its constituents of protein energy malnutrition and micro-nutrient deficiencies continues to be a major health burden in low and middle-income countries. To end all forms of malnutrition, we need to address poverty, which is associated with the insecure supply of food and diversified nutrition. The objective of this study was to determine the level of dietary diversity and household food security among urban school-age children in Merawi town, Ethiopia. Methods A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Merawi town among 422 households having school age children from April 1 to June 15, 2018. The association between dietary diversity and determinants was assessed using binary logistic regression analysis. Socio-demographic, maternal and child related variables; food security and diversity determinants were studied. Results The overall level of good dietary diversity was 91.7%, i.e.; 8.3% had a low, 59.1% had a good, 32.6% had better dietary diversity, respectively. Most households (95.2%) were secured with food access. The factors associated with good dietary diversity were the age of the child [AOR = 0.31 (0.14, 0.70)], and access to information [AOR = 3.18 (1.07,9.47)]. Conclusion The prevalence of good dietary diversity was relatively high. Among different socio-cultural and economic factors studied, age of the child and access to information were the factors associated with dietary diversity. Increasing maternal and child awareness towards good dietary diversity practices through the mass media (radio and Television) and working with mothers with early school-age children to improve dietary diversity are recommended.

Primary school-based nutrition education intervention on nutrition knowledge, attitude and practices among school-age children in Ghana

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 114-122
Author(s):  
Janet Antwi ◽  
Agartha Ohemeng ◽  
Laurene Boateng ◽  
Esi Quaidoo ◽  
Boateng Bannerman
Keyword(s):  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Nutrition Knowledge ◽  
Nutrition Status ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Education Intervention ◽  
School Age ◽  
Significant Difference

This study was performed to evaluate the effect of a six-week nutrition education intervention on the nutrition knowledge, attitude, practices, and nutrition status of school-age children (aged 6–12 years) in basic schools in Ghana. Short-term effects of nutrition education training sessions on teachers and caregivers were also assessed. Pre-post controlled design was used to evaluate the program. Intervention groups had significantly higher nutrition knowledge scores (8.8 ± 2.0 vs. 5.9 ± 2.1, P < 0.0001) compared to controls in the lower primary level. A higher proportion of children in the intervention group strongly agreed they enjoyed learning about food and nutrition issues compared to the control group (88% vs. 77%, P = 0.031). There was no significant difference in dietary diversity scores (4.8 ± 2.0 vs. 5.1 ± 1.4, P = 0.184) or in measured anthropometric indices (3.6% vs. 8.2%, P = 0.08). A marginally lower proportion of stunted schoolchildren was observed among the intervention group compared to the control group (3.6% vs. 8.2%, P = 0.080). Nutrition knowledge of teachers and caregivers significantly improved (12.5 ± 1.87 vs. 9.2 ± 2.1; P = 0.031) and (5.86 ± 0.73 to 6.24 ± 1.02, P = 0.009), respectively. Nutrition education intervention could have positive impacts on knowledge and attitudes of school children, and may be crucial in the development of healthy behaviors for improved nutrition status.

scholarly journals Relationships of Family Food Environment with Food and Nutrition Literacy in Chinese School-Age Children

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niuniu Li ◽  
Xiao Su ◽  
Tan Liu ◽  
Jing Sun ◽  
Wenli Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Food Environment ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Information Management System ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Nutritional Knowledge ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
Chinese School ◽  
Grade 3 ◽  
Family Food Environment

Abstract Background Eating behavior is influenced by multiple factors and understanding the interplay of these factors is necessary to promote children’s healthy food choices. This study investigated the relations of family food environment (FFE) factors with food and nutrition literacy (FNL) in Chinese school-age children.Methods A total of 605 children aged 7 ~ 13 years from grade 1 to 5, and their caregivers participated in the cross-sectional study in Beijing of China during April 2019. The FFE was assessed by the validated Family Food Environment Questionnaire for Chinese School-age Children (FFEQ-SC). For the children of grade 3 to 5 (n = 260), the FNL, including cognitive and skill domains, was assessed by Food and Nutrition Literacy Questionnaire for Chinese School-age Children (FNLQ-SC). Both FFEQ-SC and FNLQ-SC were developed firstly for Chinese school-age children and had good reliability. The anthropometric data (height and weight) was derived from local health information management system for primary schools.Results Overall, 68.9% of the children’s families had higher level of FFE. The total FNL score of 260 children from grade 3–5 was 63.23 ± 10.32. Comparison of children’s FNL score among different levels of FFE showed the children with higher level of FFE, especially higher level of caregiver’s educational degree and FNL, were more likely to have significant higher FNL scores (P < 0.05). The multivariate analysis showed the children’s total FNL score was significantly related with family caregiver (β= -0.123, P = 0.04) and caregiver’s nutritional literacy (β = 0.210, P = 0.002). Furthermore, the children with higher level of caregiver’s nutritional knowledge were less likely to be overweight or obesity (OR = 0.043, P = 0.04).Conclusions and Implications: Family food environment, especially caregivers’ FNL, were significantly related with children’s FNL, even the risk of overweight. These findings highlight the importance of targeting nutritional knowledge of family caregivers to facilitate the children’s FNL to maintain good health.

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