International Journal of Child Health and Nutrition

39-46

Authors: Cyril Bennouna, Hanna-Tina Fischer, Michael Wessells, Neil Boothby

The humanitarian system is struggling to adapt to changes in the global political environment, trends in armed conflict and displacement, and advances in science and technology. In recent years, the international community has undertaken a number of efforts to overcome these challenges, such as the Agenda for Humanity, a plan that outlines the changes needed to alleviate suffering, reduce risk, and lessen vulnerability on a global scale. This article reviews recent evidence from a range of disciplines to inform these efforts, especially as they relate to the protection of children. Early childhood and adolescence constitute two critical periods of child development that lay the foundations for future health and wellbeing. Exposure to adversity in crisis contexts can compromise this development, with potentially life-long consequences. Evidence suggests that relationships with caregivers and peers play a central role in mediating childhood experiences of adversity. Unfortunately, interventions for children affected by crises are usually too fragmented to maximize the protective effects of healthy relationships. This article stresses the importance of developing multisectoral and relational interventions capable of promoting healthy development across the life course. Given the central role of caregivers, the household is an especially powerful level of intervention for combining approaches from different sectors. More concerted efforts are needed to develop household interventions that combine traditional sectoral approaches with innovative, cross-cutting measures, such as cash transfers and parental support. Household interventions should also be an integral part of broader community and society level actions, which together form more comprehensive systems of care

63-73

Authors: A. Merrotsy, A.L. McCarthy, J. Flack, S. Lacey, T Coppinger

Objective: Examine dietary intake (DI), anthropometric measures, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and nutritional knowledge (NK) of school children. Design:Cross-sectional study. Food Diary, NK questionnaire and 550m walk/run test were used to assess DI, NK and CRF respectively. Blood pressure (BP) was also taken and body mass index (BMI) and waist to height ratio (WHtR) were calculated.Setting: Two primary schools, Cork, Ireland. Subjects: Six (n = 49, age 5.9 ± 0.6 years) and ten (n = 52, age 9.8 ± 0.5 years) year olds. Results:Intakes of fruit and vegetables, fibre, calcium and iron were sub-optimal. Unhealthy snacks and saturated fat intakes were higher than recommended. A total of 24.4% of six year olds and 35.4% of ten year olds were classified as ‘fast’. Furthermore, 45.9% of six and ten year olds had high-normal BP and 27.9% had high BP. NK was negatively correlated with sugar intake (r = -0.321, p = 0.044) in ten year olds. WHtR was negatively correlated with servings of vegetables in six year olds (r = -0.377, p = 0.014). For ten year olds, there was a positive correlation between WHtR and run score (r = 0.350, p = 0.014) and BMI and run score (r = 0.482, p = 0.001). Conclusion:This study highlights, for the first time, DI, NK, CRF, BP and anthropometric data for Irish children and their potential combined effect on overall health. Study results suggest preventive initiatives are needed, in children as young as 6 years of age

82-96

Authors: Goran Livazovic, Iva Mudrinic

This paper analyses the relation between socioeconomic characteristics, family and peer relations, depression and eating disorders with 218 (144 female, 66.1%) participants aged 14-19 from Croatia. The questionnaire encompassed questions on socioeconomic traits, family and peer relations, depression and anorexia, bulimia, binge eating and orthorexia. Girls reported most dissatisfaction with the abdominal region (38.5%), thighs (31.2%) and breasts (16.1%). Boys reported most dissatisfaction with the abdomen (12.4%), chest (10.1%) and legs/calves (7.3%). Gender was significant for depression (p<.001), anorexia (p<.01), bulimia (p<.001) and binge eating (p<.05), with girls scoring higher on all scales. Age was significant for depression (p<.05) in younger participants, and orthorexia (p<.05) for older adolescents. Participants from vocational schools reported significantly higher family life satisfaction (p<.01), while gymnasium students reported significantly higher depression (p<.000), bulimia (p<.01) and binge eating behaviour (p<.01). Higher mother’s educational level was significant for anorexia (p<.05) and orthorexia (p<.01). Family relations correlated negatively with bulimia and binge eating, but positively with orthorexia. Peer relations were not significant for eating disorders. Eating disorders show positively correlated comorbidity (p<.000), and were significantly correlated to depression (p<.000). Anorexia is best predicted by bulimia (p<.001), orthorexia (p<.001), depression (p<.01) and mother’s education (p<.01). Bulimia is strongly predicted by anorexia (p<.001), binge eating (p<.001), depression (p<.001) and gender (p<.001). Binge eating is strongly predicted by bulimia (p<.001), depression (p<.01) and school type (p<.05). Orthorexia is strongly predicted by anorexia (p<.001), family relations quality (p<.05), the mother’s education (p<.05) and school success (p<.05).