Tình trạng dinh dưỡng và một số yếu tố liên quan của trẻ từ 6 - 36 tháng tuổi tại phòng khám dinh dưỡng và tiêm chủng, Trường Đại học Y Hà Nội

Abstract

Nutrition plays a crucial role in the overall development of young children. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 165 children aged 6 – 36 months old at the Nutrition and Vaccination Clinic – Hanoi Medical University, to assess their nutritional status and related factors. Results showed that the prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting was 4.2%, 3.0%, and 5.5%, respectively, while the rate of overweight and obesity was very low (0.6%). Malnutrition was mainly concentrated in the 6 – 8 month and 12 – 23 months old age groups. A total of 69.1% of children received complementary feeding at the appropriate time, and none were introduced to complementary foods later than 6 months. The rate of timely complementary feeding was twice as high as that of early feeding before 6 months old (p < 0.05). Most mothers had correct knowledge regarding breastfeeding and complementary feeding, but a proportion still did not practice accordingly. These findings highlight the need to strengthen nutrition education and communication for parents to improve the nutritional status of young children.