A Study On Nutrition And Health Status Of Rural Left-behind Children Under Age Six In Hunan Province

[Objective]To get some information about the nutrition and health status of rural left-behind children in Hunan province,so as to provide the nutritional intervention project for left-behind children with basic data, and also provide scientific evidence for formulating relative policy, improving and solving the nutritional and healthy problems of rural left-behind children.[Methods]The stratified cluster sampling was employed in this investigation.Three towns were selected randomly from each appointed county on the basis of economic status,which are typical of good, medium and bad economic condition,respectively.Next,cluster sampling was used to select the villages from each chosen towns.The total number of sample was 1528 children(936 left-behind children and 592 non-left-behind children).The ascertainment methods mainly included questionnaire,diet survey,anthropometric measurements,and laboratory examination.[Results]The outcome of dietary survey showed that there was general deficiency in energy and major nutrients intake of rural left-behind children at age two to six in Hunan,except the protein intake. The physical measurement manifested the height,weight of rural left-behind children were similar to that of the non-left-behind in Hunan. The prevalence rates of stunning,underweight,wasting and anemia of rural left-behind children in Hunan were 18.1%,2.8%,0.7%and 32.2%, respectively.The breast feeding rate and duration of breast feeding of rural left-behind children were obviously lower than the non-left-behind children(χ~2=9.881,P＜0.003;χ~2=7.425,P＜0.025).Meanwhile the rural left-behind children were in poor attendance.Multiple factors analysis showed weight-for-height Z score was high among rural left-behind children with the following situation:heavy birth weight, non-anemia,not being picky in foods,bigger family,and mothers were in better education;but low in the left-behind children whose mothers were older,the time mothers worked out was longer.Height-for-age Z score was high among left-behind children with fathers working out for longer time.Weight-for-age Z score was high among kids with heavy birth weight,living scattered,and mothers were in better education;but low in the kids whose mother was in older age.[Conclusion]Dietary quality of rural left-behind children at age two to six in Hunan were relatively poor;there was no significant difference in physical development between left-behind children and non-left-behind children.The left-behind children faced problems coming from stunning and anemia.The situation of feeding and attending should be improved.Heavy birth weight,non-anemia,mothers were in higher education,bigger family,fathers worked out for the longer time,and not being picky for foods could be the favorable factors of growth status of rural left-behind children,but mothers were in older age and mothers worked out for the longer time could be the disadvantageous factors.