Malnutrition and Medical Neglect

Nutritional Assessment of the Infant Population of the Chirikyacu Indigenous Community of Peru

Malnutrition is one of the main public health problems affecting early childhood development, compromising the health and quality of life of thousands of Peruvian children. The main contribution of this work is the analysis of the nutritional status of the infant population of the Chirikyacu Indigenous Community of Peru in order to evaluate current and future food policies. It is a cross-sectional study with a sample of 19 children between 6 months and 6 years of age. Sociodemographic, anthropometric, clinical variables and dietary habits were analyzed from 7 January to 4 February 2018. The mean age of the children was 29.74 months (SD = 23.91). We found statistically significant differences between the BMI values of boys and girls (p < 0.05; Mann−Whitney test). According to the z-scores, 35.29% suffer from malnutrition, although in no case is it severe. Hair, nails and skin were in good condition in general, except for some cases showing signs of nutritional deficiency. Dietary patterns are based on legumes, vegetables, dairy products, ice cream, cookies and sweets, and are considered insufficient to cover basic needs; water intake was also insufficient. Breastfeeding lasted an average of 14 months (SD = 2.9). We found a prevalence of malnutrition higher than that established by the WHO in Latin America among the children of Chirikyacu. The dietary pattern is insufficient to cover basic needs, so it is necessary to continue with nutritional educational interventions to improve it.

Child neglect and eating habits in primary schoolchildren: A prospective study in Wuhan, China

Child neglect (CN) has been associated with eating disorders, but little is known about its prospective association with the eating habits (EHs) of children. This study aimed to assess the cross-sectional and prospective associations of baseline CN with six common EHs in Chinese primary schoolchildren. We analyzed two-wave data of 1102 children (aged 9.1 ± 0.5 years) in Wuhan, China. Baseline CN was investigated by the Child Neglect Scale. Baseline and follow-up EHs, including fruit, vegetables, milk, sugar-sweetened beverages, and high-calorie snack and breakfast consumption frequency, were assessed by the Food Frequency Questionnaires. The association of baseline CN with baseline/follow-up EHs was analyzed by the generalized linear model (GLM). The association of baseline CN with the change of EHs from baseline to follow-up was examined by the Generalized estimating equation (GEE) model. After adjusting for demographic characteristics, pubertal stage, and body mass index, GLM indicated that higher baseline CN was associated with lower frequency of consuming fruit/vegetables/milk/breakfast and higher frequency of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages and high-calorie snacks at baseline, while it was only associated with lower frequency of vegetables/breakfast consumption and higher frequency of sugar-sweetened beverages consumption at follow-up. GEE results indicated that children with higher CN had a more rapid increase for the frequency of fruit/milk/breakfast consumption and a steeper decrease for the frequency of sugar-sweetened beverages consumption. In conclusion, higher CN was associated with unhealthy EHs. Yet simultaneously, children with higher CN have more scope to promote the health of their EHs. Targeting and reducing CN may be a promising approach for future interventions to improve subsequent EHs.