Nutrition of Urban-poor Children

The Impact of Nutritional Intervention in Young Children in PPR Lembah Subang 1: A Retrospective Study

The investigators undertook a program to promote the consumption of healthy foods and reduce the prevalence of malnutrition of children below the age of 5 years in an urban-poor community, by 10% year-on-year through nutrition education and the provision of healthy food. The main purpose of the study is to determine the impact of these nutrition intervention programs on the nutritional status of children under-5 in Selangor.

This retrospective pre-post intervention study will use data collected from 2 previous studies that were carried out between July 2020 to May 2021 (Eat Healthy Project 1.0) and March 2022 to December 2023 (Eat Healthy Project 2.0). The 2 studies had been approved by the Medical Research and Ethics Committees of University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) and the Ministry of Health, Malaysia and registered with the National Medical Research Registry (NMRR).

The main outcome measures were:

1. Improved dietary practices, in particular, an increase in the proportion of children who meet the minimum dietary diversity score of 5 food groups, post-intervention.
2. An increase in proportion of children consuming fruits and vegetables and a decrease in proportion of children consuming sugar-sweetened foods and beverages post-intervention.
3. A decrease in prevalence of malnutrition - underweight, wasting and stunting. The comparator will be urban-poor children attending a Child Health clinic who had received nutritional education but no provision of food supplementation.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Growth; Nutritional Assessment; Dietary Assessment
• Intervention / Treatment: Dietary supplement: supplementation, food

Detailed Description

The primary objectives:

1. To compare dietary diversity practices of children, based on the WHO 8 food groups and 24-hour dietary recall, pre- and post-intervention.

2. To compare consumption of fresh foods, sugar-sweetened foods and beverages pre- and post-intervention.

   The secondary objectives:

3. To compare the weight-for-age z-scores of children pre- and post-intervention.
4. To compare the height-for-age z-scores of children pre- and post-intervention.
5. To compare the prevalence of malnutrition: underweight, stunting and wasting pre- and post-intervention.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 320
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Malaysia
  • Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
    • Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 59100
      • Universiti of Malaya Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• children aged under 5 years enrolled at PPR Lembah Subang 1 or
• children aged under 5 years enrolled at the Child Health Clinic, Universiti Malaya Medical Center

Exclusion Criteria:

• Children with low birth weight (<2.5 kg)
• Children born pre-term (<37 weeks gestation) and
• Children with chronic illnesses or severe malnutrition.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Community; Regular food supplementation.	Dietary supplement: supplementation, food; Supplementation of fresh foods
No Intervention: Child Health Clinic; No food supplementation.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Minimum Dietary diversity score	The percentage of children who achieved the minimum dietary diversity score of 5 food groups, based on WHO 8 food groups and 24-hour dietary recall.	Pre and post intervention, at least 4 months interval
Consumption of healthy foods	The percentage of children who consume fresh fruits and/or vegetables pre- and post-intervention.	Pre and post intervention, at least 4 months interval
Consumption of unhealthy foods	The percentage of children who consume sugar-sweetened foods or beverages.	Pre and post intervention, at least 4 months interval

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Child's weight z-scores	Weight is measured in kilograms Weight will be adjusted for age and sex, i.e., Weight for age Z-score	Pre and post intervention, at least 4 months interval
Child's Height z-scores	Height is measured centimeters, adjusted for age and sex: Height-for-age Z-score	Pre and post intervention, at least 4 months interval

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Malaya

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• The Role of Nutrition in Brain Development: The Golden Opportunity of the "First 1000 Days"
• Advocacy for Improving Nutrition in the First 1000 Days to Support Childhood Development and Adult Health
• Moursi, M., Arimond, M., Dewey, K., Trèche, S., Ruel, M., & Delpeuch, F. (2008). Dietary Diversity Is a Good Predictor of the Micronutrient Density of the Diet of 6- to 23-Month-Old Children in Madagascar.
• World Health Organization. Indicators for assessing infant and young child feeding practices Part 1: Definitions. Geneva: WHO; 2008.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 4, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 31, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 25, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 7, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): April 10, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 10, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 7, 2025
• Last Verified: April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Food supplement; Dietary diversity; malnutrition in children; Healthy food choice; sugar sweetened beverages and food
• Other Study ID Numbers: Version 1.0

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: IPD used in results publication
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: December 2025 to November 2026
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: To request for access from the PI
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No