École des sciences des aliments, de nutrition et d'étude familiale, Université de Moncton, 18 avenue Antonine-Maillet, Moncton, NB E1A 3E9, Canada.
Public Health Specialist, Guelph, ON N1E 6Y8, Canada.
Nutrients. 2019 Mar 22;11(3):685. doi: 10.3390/nu11030685.
Child undernutrition is of public concern in Cambodia. An understanding of factors influencing child nutritional status is essential to design programs that will reduce undernutrition. Using the UNICEF conceptual framework of causes of malnutrition, our research investigates the relationship between nutritional status of children aged 6⁻23 months and its immediate and underlying determinants.
Baseline data from a cluster-randomized controlled trial aiming to assess the impact of the promotion of optimal feeding practices combined or not with the provision of local foods among 360 children 6⁻23 months of age were used. Anthropometry and biochemical measurements were performed at baseline. Data on each determinant of undernutrition were collected through interviews and direct observations.
Our results show that the degree of satisfaction of proteins and zinc requirements as well as the access to improved water sources and sanitation were positively associated with length-for-age, while having a better health status and a higher degree of satisfaction of energy, protein, zinc, and iron requirements were associated to an improved weight-for-length. Only child health status was associated to ferritin.
Our results reiterate the importance of improving child diet and health status, but also the access to a healthy environment to ensure an optimal nutritional status.
儿童营养不足是柬埔寨公众关注的问题。了解影响儿童营养状况的因素对于设计旨在减少营养不足的方案至关重要。本研究利用儿童基金会营养不良原因概念框架，调查了 6 至 23 个月龄儿童营养状况与其直接和根本决定因素之间的关系。
使用了一项旨在评估促进最佳喂养做法对 360 名 6 至 23 个月龄儿童的影响的群组随机对照试验的基线数据，这些做法是否结合提供当地食物。在基线时进行了人体测量学和生物化学测量。通过访谈和直接观察收集了营养不良的每个决定因素的数据。
我们的结果表明，蛋白质和锌需求的满足程度以及获得改良水源和卫生设施与年龄别身长呈正相关，而健康状况较好和能量、蛋白质、锌和铁需求的满足程度较高与改善身长别体重相关。只有儿童健康状况与铁蛋白有关。
我们的结果再次强调了改善儿童饮食和健康状况以及获得健康环境的重要性，以确保最佳营养状况。
