Improving nutritional status and dietary intake of stunted children 2 - 5 years old through the nutrient - rich products supplementation in Tuyen Quang province in 2016

Abstract

A cluster randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of nutrient-rich product supplementation on the nutritional
status and dietary intake of stunting children 2 - 5 years old in 2 communes of Yên Sơn district, Tuyên Quang province. 200 stunted children 2 - 5 years old were randomly divided into 2 groups. The intervention group was given 2 packs of nutritional products/ day for 9 consecutive months, the control group followed the normal diet. After 6 and 9 months of intervention, the rate of stunting children in the intervention group decreased by 24.5%, 34.7% compared to the control group, decreased by 13.3%, 19.4%, p < 0.05. After 6 months and after 9 months, the rate of underweight malnutrition in the intervention group decreased by 2.1% and 4.2% compared to the control group and increased by 8.2% and 6.1%, p > 0.05. Energy, protein, lipids, vitamins A, C; calcium, iron, zinc of dietary of the intervention group increased signifcantly compared to the baseline and compared with the control group, p < 0.05 after 9 months of intervention. Daily supplementing of nutrientrich products during 9 months improved weight gain, dietary intake while decreasing the stunting rate and underweight rate among
stunted children 2 - 5 years old.