CHAPTER 1

PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Background of the study

Malnutrition is universal issue that no country in the world can afford to

overlook. Malnutrition early in life has been implicated in the subsequent

development of cognitive and behavioural impairments in childhood and

adolescence; decreased attention, conduct problems and decreased IQ have

all been documented. (Galler, 1984).

The health of malnourish children is affected, when they are newly

borne they are lacking in their mother’s breastfeed. Lack of nutrients is high

when their mother’s milk presence is not available to their newly born. There

are also other problems in this regard when the poor lifestyle of the mother

continues to work or the foods eaten are unhealthy. Their baby’s health can

be greatly affected by breastfeeding. Therefore, the major intervention in this

direction has been that relating to establishing and promoting exclusive

breastfeeding and promoting nutritionally adequate diets for children less

than five years. In 1979 WHO and UNICEF recommended an exclusive

breastfeeding (EBF) period of 4-6 months however WHO expert committee

2001, upon assessing the extent of EBF concluded that for optimal nutritional

status of a child, an EBF period of 6 months must be adhered to. Field

studies show that complementary foods introduced between four and six

months of age replace nutrients from breastfeeding and confer no advantage

on growth or development (Dewey and other, 1999; and Gupta and other,

2002).

Malnutrition is a silent emergency, is not the only important cause of

childhood mortality and morbidity, but also leads to permanent impairment of

both physical and mental growth of those who survive. People are

considered to be malnourished (more specifically, undernourished when they

do not consume adequate calories, protein, nutrients to satisfy their bodies’

growth and maintenance requirements long dismissed as an indirect –even

negligible-factor in child mortality, acute malnutrition is now indicated for its

insidious and indeed major role. Numerous studies have followed this cohort

who were exposed to malnutrition in Utero. Long-term effects included

impaired cognitive performance, increase response to stress and an

increased risk of schizophrenia (Roseboom TJ, 2011).It is the result of child’s

lack of nutrients. They are not given the necessary nutrients that their body

need. This includes easy illness and slow growth.

Every child needs a health support, so there is a DOH government

program that puts value and importance on everyone’s health. The

Government supports children with nutritional deficiencies in their health and

provides free vaccinations to children and provides a feeding program for

children. It also shows that they are supporting children’s health that their

parents can’t sustain It all. The government also provides information to the

parents of the children, and what they can do to provide for their children’s

nutritional needs. Only productive revolution of rural life that also educates

mothers to know what makes for sound family nutrition will be adequate

(Ravenholt A. 1982)

Malnutrition in all, it forms remains a global concern, particularly

affecting highly vulnerable populations in several regions of the world.

Excessive intake of energy-dense food, a form of malnutrition, together with

reduced physical activity, has led to an epidemic of obesity, and nutrition-

related non-communicable diseases. Give feeding to those children who

experiencing malnutrition and help for the organization to develop the

environment. The burden of malnutrition is unacceptable high.

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Statement of the problem

 Paying attention to the life of a malnourished child who needs help to be

healthy and get the right physique that suits their age.

 Giving support to the basic health needs can greatly help them achieve a
healthy body.

Research Question

1. What are the harmful effects of malnutrition?

2. How can we avoid childhood malnutrition?

Scope & Delimitation

 This study is conducted in Prk. Katuparan, Magugpo Poblacion South.

Covers by 4 respondents. The respondent are those children who are

Underweight, Severely Underweight, Stunted, Overweight, wasted and severely

waster.

Significance of the study

 Our findings highlight that this study has great benefits to the barangay. A

contributing factor towards the high prevalence of malnutrition found in the study

maybe a result of the more knowledge and awareness of this problem.

Children who's experiencing malnutrition – Children with malnutrition have

reduced ability to fight infection (Am J Clin Nutr, 2004). Therefore, children who

experience malnutrition from this study will benefits from being aware of their

condition, and what things they can do to make it healthier. To make them able to

fight any infection. They will be well supported by their government because of

this study.

Barangay - The barangay will benefit from this study, in the sense that they will

no longer have a hard time to understand the needs of children suffering from

malnutrition because all that will help them to better understand the basic needs of

children experiencing malnutrition is already covered of this study. According to

Cerdeña CM (2004) the barangay has been pinpointed as the focal point of

planning and implementation of the nutrition program.

Parents - Parents of children suffering from malnutrition will be more likely to find

out what their child really needs from this study. To find out what must be the first

step to solve this problem. The parents of the children experiencing the

malnutrition will also help this study in the way that they become more active for

their child as they already know that malnutrition is not good and should not be

ignored. Therefore, this study was intended to generate information on the parent

food preference and its implication for child malnutrition.

Health center- The health center will less longer to provide information and

encourage parents of children suffering from malnutrition because of this study.

Government give them support and It will give them the improvement of their

facilities. According to R. Stock (1983) Health care infrastructure provides the

basic support for health care operations and service.