Publication: Nutritional status of the preschool children of the Klong Toey Slum, Bangkok
Issued Date
2002-12-01
Resource Type
ISSN
01251562
Other identifier(s)
2-s2.0-0037812483
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Mahidol University
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health. Vol.33, No.3 (2002), 628-637
Suggested Citation
Yuko Tada, Boonyong Keiwkarnka, Nonglak Pancharuniti, Kanittha Chamroonsawasdi Nutritional status of the preschool children of the Klong Toey Slum, Bangkok. Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health. Vol.33, No.3 (2002), 628-637. Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/20272
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Title
Nutritional status of the preschool children of the Klong Toey Slum, Bangkok
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
A cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the nutritional status of children (aged 1-5 years) who lived in the Klong Toey slum, Bangkok; the factors related to nutritional status were also determined. Anthropometric measurements were made for 232 children; socioeconomic background information was obtained by interviewing their mothers using a structured questionnaire. The prevalence of malnutrition among the study sample was 25.4% by weight-for-age, 18.1% by height-for-age, and 6.9% by weight-for-height; the prevalence among pre-school children in Thailand and in the Bangkok metropolitan area by weight-for-age was reported to be 8.73% and 5.25% respectively. Potential related factors were examined: family characteristics, (mother's age, marital status, educational background, family size, family income, and mothers' occupation); children's characteristics (age, gender, birth order, immunization status, and history of illness); mothers' knowledge and perception of nutrition and mothers' food practice. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify the association with the nutritional status of children by height-for-age. The results showed that family income (adjusted OR=0.9998; 95% CI : 0.9997-1.0000), matenal housewifery or unemployment (adjusted OR=6.5; 95% CI : 1.74-24.3), food practice (adjusted OR=0.7123; 95% CI : 0.5390-0.9414), and a maternal educational level lower than primary school (adjusted OR=10.1; 95% CI : 1.13-91.9) were associated with the nutritional status of children. This finding implies that although malnutrition is no longer considered to be a major health problem in Thailand, it remains a threat to the health of the urban poor in Bangkok. This finding should not be overlooked and countermeasures are indicated.