1.Dietary diversity and nutritional status of 2 to 5 years old children in households with and without home gardens in selected districts in Siem Reap province, Cambodia
Liny SEK ; Aimee A. Sheree Barrion ; Clarissa B. Juanico ; Josefina T. Dizon ; Hurtada A. Wilma
Malaysian Journal of Nutrition 2021;27(No.2):209-219
Introduction: There is a high prevalence of malnutrition in Cambodia during the
past 10 years. One of the programmes implemented to secure household food
security in order to alleviate malnutrition was home gardening. This study aimed
to compare the nutritional status of 2 to 5 years old children in households with
and without home gardens. Methods: Twenty-five households with home gardens
and 60 households without home gardens were sampled. Results: The households
sampled had a mixed type of home garden with three to five crop varieties occupying
20 to 200 square meters area. The purpose of the garden was to increase vegetable
consumption and produce additional income. Results showed that 72% and 65%
of the children resided in households with and without home gardens, respectively.
Majority had medium dietary diversity score, i.e. consumed four to five different food
groups per day. Except for stunting, higher prevalences of undernutrition (32%)
and wasting (8%) were observed among children residing in households with home
gardens compared to children in households without home gardens. Conclusion:
There were no associations for dietary diversity score and nutritional status
of children from households with and without home gardens. Among the sociodemographic
and economic factors, age, sex, family size, and vegetable consumption
were significantly associated with dietary diversity score and nutritional status of
the children.