A review of national plans of action for nutrition in Southeast Asian countries

@#This review describes national plans of action for nutrition (NPANs) in six Southeast Asia countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) in order to provide an understanding of the approach and framework undertaken by these countries in the formulation and implementation of NPANs, as well as the similarities and differences in various NPAN components. The six countries recognised the persistent undernutrition and escalating rates of obesity and other diet-related chronic diseases as the key drivers for nutrition action plan implementation. The prioritisation of nutrition interventions outlined in these NPANs are based on respective country context and needs. Although differing in strategies and targets set, these countries show similarities in several components including objectives, stakeholder involvement, nutritional issues to be addressed, implementation, monitoring and evaluation mechanism, programme/ activities identified and challenges in implementing NPANs. Countries have recognised that effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation are essential to successfully address both extremes of the challenging nutrition situation. Several important similarities in the NPANs studied suggest that closer collaboration among countries and stakeholders on NPANs would be beneficial. Opportunities should be created for periodic exchanges to enable sharing of experiences in the development and implementation of NPANs among the countries. Recommendations and conclusions drawn from this review could serve as useful reference for nutrition policy and planning in the future.

Improvement of nutrition knowledge and practices among reproductive-aged women through participatory communication in two communes of Yenthe district in Bacgiang province, Vietnam

Over the years many approaches have been used in communication for behavioral changes in nutrition. The overall aim of this study was to provide practical insights into how participatory, audience-centered communication activities can be effectively used for imparting information and for behavioral change promotion on the topic of dietary diversity and micronutrient nutrition, among reproductive-age women in Vietnam. The communication initiatives for improving nutrition knowledge and practices of the women in two selected communes (Dongky and Donglac) in Bacgiang province were carried out from January, 2003 to December, 2005. The Dongky commune was selected as the intervention commune, while the Donglac commune served as the control. In the intervention commune of Dongky the problems and strategies of nutrition communication and education were defined, IEC materials and some seeds of iron-rich vegetables and fruits were provided. Besides that, a contest on nutrition knowledge at a primary school and a competition between nutrition collaborators were held. The results of the study showed that food consumption of the women in both communes improved compared to levels at the baseline survey, especially in the intervention commune. The total knowledge scores and the nutrition practices of the women in the Dongky commune significantly improved compared to the data at baseline and were higher compared to that of the control commune.

The relationship between consumption custom, habits and the overweight and obesity status of the primary school pupils in Dong Da district, Ha Noi city

An investigation performed on 3647 primary school children found that the obesity incidence was 9,9% (among them, 12,9% male and 6,7% female). The consuming of high energy food such as meat, butter, roasted foods.... in obese children was higher considerably than normal children, obese children had had the habit of eating many time daily (> 3 times) and before bed

Relationship between food habit, food preference and physical activities with overweight among school children in Dong Da - Hanoi

The study performed on 3647 primary school pupils male (51.4%) and female (48.6%) in Dong Da district, Hanoi city. The results showed an incidence of overweight of 9.9%, increasing with age, with a higher rate in male than female subjects. Overweight children consumed more frequently high energy foods (butter, fat, fatty meat and fried dishes) in compare with normal children. Overweight children had a habit of taking more meals per day than normal children and taking added meals. Overweight children spent more time for sedentary activities than normal children, especially for watching television and playing electronic games

Nutritional assessment (over-weight and obesity) of children under 10 years of age

The methods of nutritional assessment (over-weight and obesity on children of + 2SD or +2 Z-scores) compared with NCHS reference can be used for the evaluation of over-weight and obesity of children. However the assessment of obesity should be combined with the indicator of W/H > +2SD and the body fat percentage or skin fold thickness

The trends of malnutrition prevalence among children under 24 months old: a longitudinal study in Hanoi

In Hai Ba Trung district and Hoan Kiem district of Ha Noi, 2 groups of children were investigated in A group (1980) physical growth and nutritional status were monitored from birth to 18 years old, and in B group (1997-1999) the growth was monitored from birth to 24 month years old. In B group, the with better socio-economic condition and nutritional status, the prevalence of children malnutrition was lower than in A group. The duration of diarrhoea and birth weight were associated with children malnutrition status

Efficacy of multi-micronutrient suplementation in reduction of iron deficiency anemia and improvement of vitamin A and zinc status of children 6 -12 months old in Soc Son Hanoi

Multi-micronutrients were supplemented for 301 children aged 6-12 months in 4 communes in SocSon district, Hanoi city from July to December 2000. In the daily supplementing group, the incidence of anemia reduced drammatically from 93.4% to 23.1% after 6 months in comparing with control group, with the group of multi micronutrient supplementing every week and the group of iron supplementing everyday. Hb content of the group of multi micronutrient supplementing enhanced from 99.6/-1.3g/l to 115.5/-1.5g/l. The daily supplement of multioligonutrients and iron had improved the iron store in the body. The effects of improving nutritional status and the deficiency of other micro-elements such as vitamin A and Zinc was still not expressed. The ratio of retinol level and serum Zinc level was lower in the group of children of supplementing multimicronutrients daily and weekly without statistic signification in comparing with the control group and the group of iron supplement