How to detect stunted malnourished children

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1. How to detect stunted and malnourished children

Symptoms of malnourished children often include: the child's weight does not grow as expected or even drops 5-10% (or more) from the child's body weight within 3-6 years. month.
Malnourished children often have changes in behavior such as: children often cry, have less fun activities and become less flexible, malnourished children's bodies are much slower than their peers. , the muscles in the arms and legs of the child are soft, the abdomen of the child tends to get bigger. In particular, the most obvious sign of a malnourished baby is slow motor development such as slow rolling, slow sitting, slow crawling, slow walking.
To determine whether a child is stunted or not, parents can measure the child's length when lying down or height when standing, then use the standard growth table of the World Health Organization (WHO) for children under 5 years old to determine the nutritional status and level of malnutrition of the child (if any).
Measurement of lying length is applied to children under 24 months of age and measuring height when standing is applied to children 24 months of age and older, the measurement results will be compared with WHO growth standards. Children are stunted when their height is lower than the height standards of children of the same age and sex (height below the threshold of -2SD).
For children under 2 years old, children need to be weighed and measured periodically every month to promptly detect their growth retardation, more specifically: children under 1 year old should be weighed once a month, children from 1 Age and older can weigh it every 2-3 months. Children from 2 to 5 years old can be weighed every 6 months. If the child is found to be stunted and malnourished, parents need to weigh and measure the child once a month for close monitoring.
Children with stunting are most often found between the ages of 6 and 24 months, this is the period when children have high nutritional needs and are learning to adapt to the environment, besides they are also very sensitive to diseases. , especially those who are not breastfed, babies born with low birth weight or mothers with multiple births. Children from large families, poor care and hygiene conditions or children suffering from infectious diseases (measles, diarrhea, respiratory infections) are also prone to stunting.

2. Causes of stunting in children

Stunted children malnourishment can be caused by one or more of the following reasons: Children are not exclusively breastfed in the first 6 months, children do not receive enough breast milk, children are introduced to solid foods too early before 6 months of age. ), children do not get enough nutrients due to some reason, food is not suitable for their taste, children do not eat a variety of different foods. Children who are susceptible to infectious diseases need to use antibiotics, these drugs at the same time will kill beneficial bacteria in the intestines, reduce food fermentation, lead to malabsorption and cause stunted children anorexia.
Children have psychological problems when the family forces them to eat too much, causing them to develop fear, long-term loss of appetite, leading to stunted children.

3. Consequences when children are stunted and malnourished for a long time

Impaired immune system: stunted children's anorexia due to lack of micronutrients (zinc, iron and vitamins) will make the immune system gradually weaken, susceptible to infections in the respiratory tract and intestinal tract; Physical and mental retardation: If gastrointestinal infections are concurrent with stunting, the child's body will not be able to absorb the nutrients in food, thereby leading to retardation of physical growth and development. wisdom. Malnourished stunted children often have reduced brain development, slowness, reduced learning ability, reduced receptivity, poor social communication and lower working ability when the children mature; Stunted children malnutrition causes all organs to decrease in development, especially the musculoskeletal system, directly affecting the height and stature of children later on.

4. Measures to prevent stunting and malnutrition in children

The rate of stunted children who are malnourished right from birth due to the mother's lack of nutrients during pregnancy is very high, so the mother needs to pay attention to adequate nutrition during pregnancy with iron supplements. folic acid or multi-micronutrient tablets. Besides, if the pregnant woman does not use milk and dairy products, eat less fish, shrimp, crab, beans, it is necessary to supplement calcium during pregnancy. In addition, parents need to apply the following measures to prevent stunting and malnutrition:
Breast milk is a very good source of nutrients for infants and young children, breast milk will provide adequate nutrients for children. Therefore, breastfeeding should be maintained for at least the first 6 months. Breastfeeding immediately after birth and should last from 18-24 months old, if the mother does not have enough milk for the baby, she needs another suitable milk source to replace the baby; Build a reasonable diet for your child to gain healthy weight, give them solid foods when they are 6 months old, and eat all 4 food groups (flour, sugar, fatty protein, vitamins and minerals). Pay attention to choosing fresh foods, limiting processed foods, foods that need to be cooked thoroughly to prevent intestinal diseases such as worms and flukes; Monitor children's weight and height to compare with monthly growth chart, to detect early and prevent the risk of stunting malnutrition; Give children vaccinations on time; Exercise will help children expend energy effectively and support healthy growth, so parents should encourage children to be more active to increase appetite, sleep better; For children of the age group to take a high dose of Vitamin A twice a year, women who give birth within 1 month need to take a dose of Vitamin A; Children from 24 to 60 months old take deworming pills twice a year in combination with food hygiene and personal hygiene to prevent worm infections. Mentally stunted children anorexia is the most difficult type of anorexia to treat and has long-term consequences, so instead of forcing children to eat, parents should create a happy atmosphere and always create new dishes to eat. Encourage children to eat naturally. Combine a variety of foods in children's daily meals and encourage choosing foods with fortified micronutrients, added fat or oil to increase absorption of Vitamins A and D;
In addition, parents also need to pay attention to supplement the necessary micronutrients such as: Selenium, Chromium, Vitamins B1 and B6, Ginger, acerola fruit extract (vitamin C),... Especially biological zinc. to improve the taste, help children eat well, reach the correct height and weight, and exceed the standard, have a good immune system, strengthen resistance to less sickness and less digestive problems.
For more nutritional knowledge and child care for each age, parents should regularly visit the website vimec.com and make an appointment with the leading doctors, pediatric and nutrition experts of the National General Hospital. Vinmec when needing advice on children's health.