Dietary Diversity of Young Children During CoVID-19 Outbreak: A Longitudinal Study
Condition: Dietary Diversity
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      The 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic has had far-reaching consequences beyond the spread of the
      disease. Quarantine measures during a public health pandemic can be particularly detrimental
      to urban poor families and affect the dietary diversity and food security. This can
      disproportionately affect young children aged 6 and below, and severely impact those <2
      years. Sudden unemployment may result in an unexpected reduction in income that will place
      pressure on daily budgets for food. Children of families may not have access to foods of
      adequate diversity that will enable them to meet their macro and micronutrient requirements
      for growth and development, especially during the Movement Control Order (MCO). The study
      plans to monitor and evaluate dietary diversity in young children's food intake after the MCO
      and use the collected information to direct targeted food aid to address observed macro- and
      micronutrient deficiencies among the urban vulnerable group.
    

Detailed description: 
      Children are the future to our society. The first thousand days of life, starting from
      conception till one's second birthday is a critical period of cognitive and physical
      development. It is the most sensitive period where brain development is most receptive to
      positive nutrition. Any form of malnutrition, especially during this golden time frame, can
      lead to irreversible effects to growth, health, education and future career attainment to our
      potential leaders, which in turn can be a barrier to human development.

      The CoVID outbreak is a unique period in recent human history where drastic public health
      measures such as MCO for an extended period of time has to be implemented nation-wide. These
      measures have untold severe consequences on the food security of the vulnerable urban group,
      in particular the young children whose brains require diverse micronutrients to support the
      rapid growth. These micronutrients can only be obtained from a daily diet that is equally
      diverse, especially from fresh vegetables and fruits which will be short in supplies. These
      perishable food items are not usually included in food aids, thus the child may have to
      subsist on staple-rich diet which are energy-dense but nutrient-poor. These dietary practices
      are associated with negative health outcomes. Thus by monitoring dietary diversity of the
      children, we hope to better inform food aid organisations to consider the inclusion of
      healthier food options to prevent micronutrient deficiencies.
    

Intervention name(s): Dietary counselling on Food Groups according to IYC Feeding practices, WHO
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): Monitoring of Dietary diversity and growth
Other intervention name(s): Monthly telephone calls to collect data on dietary diversity - 4 telephone calls in total.; Anthropometric measurements and Blood investigations for hemoglobin and iron status (optional)
Intervention MeSH terms: Chrysarobin
Observational model: Cohort
Time perspective: Prospective
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        Children who participated in the Children of Urban Poverty Iron Project (CUPIP), PPR Lembah
        Subang 1, Selangor

        Children in PPR Kota Damansara, Selangor

        Children who attend the Child Health Clinic, UMMC
      
Keywords: Dietary diversity; micro-nutrient adequacy; young children; urban settings