International Journal of Child Health and Nutrition

139-145

Authors: Cougar Hall, Cudjoe Bennett, Benjamin Crookston, Kirk Dearden, Muhamad Hasan, Mary Linehan, Ahmad Syafiq, Scott West, Joshua West

Child undernutrition and stunting remain serious public health problems in Indonesia. According to the Health Belief Model, increasing mothers’ knowledge of stunting is fundamental to establishing accurate threat perceptions predictive of behavior change. The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of factors related to maternal knowledge of stunting in Indonesia by addressing three questions: 1) How familiar with stunting are Indonesian mothers? 2) What antecedent factors do Indonesian mothers associate with stunting? and 3) What health effects do Indonesian mothers associate with stunting?A total of 3,150 mothers participated in structured face-to-face interviews. Study measures targeted four main variables. Mothers were asked: 1) Have you heard of stunting?; 2) Have you heard of shortness?; 3) What causes stunting/shortness?; and 4) What are the effects of stunting? Only 66 (2.1%) mothers reported having heard of, read about, or knew something about stunting. Approximately two-thirds of participants attributed stunting to hereditary factors. Interrupted growth (33.7%), idiocy (13.8%), and easy to get sick (11.8%) were identified as health effects of stunting. Results highlight the need for health promotion and education efforts focused on increasing basic knowledge of stunting, its causes, and its health effects among Indonesian mothers

157-162

Authors: Stacie M. Kirk, Erik P. Kirk

Purpose/Objective: To compare preschool lunch menus that meet dietary guidelines to what is actually served and consumed. Methods: Fifty-two preschoolchildren (mean±SD, age 3y and 10m ± 8m) from a university early childhood center participated in the 10-week study. Dietary intake was measured by a registered dietitian using direct observation for pre and post meal analysis. Energy and nutrient content was completed using Food Processor Nutrition Analysis by ESHA. Results: There was a significant (p<0.05) difference for total kilocalories (kcals) between what was on the menu (448 ±130) and to what was served to the children (523 ± 148) compared to what was consumed (361 ± 178) by the children.There was a significant (p<0.05) difference for grams of fat between what food was listed on the menu (16.0 ± 8.7g), the food served to the children (21.2 ± 9.7g), and the food consumed (14.5 ± 10.0g) by the children. There was a significant (p<0.05) difference for grams of carbohydrate between what food was listed on the menu (55.3 ± 18.9g) and the food served to the children (56.5 ± 20.5g) compared to what was consumed (38.5 ± 21.7g) by the children. Children consumed only 46.9% of the vegetables, 88.9% of dairy products, 82.0% of fruits, 81.8% of grains and 72.8% of meats served, and 77.9% of all fats/sweets served to them at lunch. Conclusion: The results indicated that menus that meet recommended dietary standards do not translate into what children are served or consumed, in particular, for vegetables

169-174

Authors: Merav W. Efrat

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine whether less acculturated, compared to more acculturated, low-income pregnant Latinas, report higher levels of breastfeeding self-efficacy. Data on level of acculturation and breastfeeding self-efficacy were collected from 253 pregnant low-income Latinas.Methods: This study was cross-sectional.Results: This study found that less acculturated, compared to more acculturated, low-income pregnant Latinas had significantly higher breastfeeding self-efficacy.Conclusions: Evidence suggests that breastfeeding self-efficacy is one of the strongest modifiable factors linked to high breastfeeding rates. Moreover, prenatal interventions designed to increase breastfeeding self-efficacy have effectively done so. Taken together it appears that one strategy practitioners and researcher may consider to increase breastfeeding rates among more acculturated low-income Latinas is to design a culturally appropriate prenatal breastfeeding intervention aimed at improving breastfeeding self-efficacy.

184-193

Authors: Sebahat Aydos, Aysel Köksal Akyol

Obesity, which can occur due to numerous causes especially from genetics to nutrition disorders, is a major problem not only for adults but also for children. Childhood obesity causes acute and chronic physical problems in children, but physical effects of obesity, as well as psycho-social effects on children, is a substantial issue. This study was conducted to analyze the effect of different weight status on social-emotional skills of adolescents. The research group comprised 189 female and 194 male of 383 total children who were still on the 6th, 7th and 8th grades at the schools. The General Information Form prepared by the researchers and the "Social Emotional Learning Skills Scale" developed by Kabakçı and Korkut Owen were utilized as data collection tools. Two-way analysis of variance and Tukey tests were performed for the analysis of the data. As a result of the study conducted, it is observed that social-emotional learning skills of adolescents aged 12-14 years are significantly different according to their weight status and gender. It has been found that the communication and social-emotional skills of overweight adolescents are significantly lower than normal adolescents and that obese adolescents have significantly lower communication, problem-solving, coping with stress, self-worth increasing and social-emotional learning skills than thin, normal and overweight adolescents. It is observed that male adolescents have significantly lower communication, problem-solving, stress coping and social-emotional learning skills than female adolescents

201-209

Authors: Lem Ngongalah, Ngwa Niba Rawlings, Wepngong Emerson, Oluwaniyi Titilope, Mumah Sharon

Background: Child malnutrition is highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Over 45% of children in Cameroon die each year from malnutrition-related causes, most of which are preventable. Exclusive breastfeeding is a well-acknowledgedand cost-effective intervention against malnutrition-related illnesses in children. However, the practice remains low in Cameroon. This study explored perceptions of mothers, care givers and key informants on infant feeding in Cameroon, and barriers to exclusive breastfeeding.Methods: A qualitative methodology was used, comprising key informant interviews and focus group discussions with nursing mothers, grandmothers and health workers; in one urban and one rural area in Cameroon. Participants were selected using convenience, purposive and snowball sampling methods. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.Results: Cameroonian mothers were supportive of breastfeeding. However, knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding and its benefits was poor. Mothers expressed doubts about its feasibility and showed concerns about satisfying their babies’ feeding and health needs. Barriers included factors which either affected women’s abilities to breastfeed or their babies’ satisfaction, family influences, other responsibilities, cultural and societal factors, and lack of support from the healthcare system.Conclusions: This study highlighted a sizeable gap between mothers’ lived experiences and infant feeding recommendations. Living in rural areas was an added disadvantage. Developing effective strategies to increase exclusive breastfeeding rates requires that mothers’ needs be understood and that influencing factors be addressed. Supportive environments are also required to promote and protect the rights and abilities of mothers to breastfeed exclusively.