Faecal microbiota plays a critical role in human health, but its relationship with nutritional status among schoolchildren remains under-explored. Here, in a double-blinded cluster-randomized controlled trial on 380 Cambodian schoolchildren, we characterize the impact of six months consumption of two types of rice fortified with different levels of vitamins and minerals on pre-specified outcomes. We investigate the association between the faecal microbiota (16SrRNA sequencing) and age, sex, nutritional status (underweight, stunting), micronutrient status (iron, zinc and vitamin A deficiencies, anaemia, iron deficient anaemia, hemoglobinopathy), inflammation (systemic, gut), and parasitic infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicronutrient deficiencies or "hidden hunger" remains a serious public health problem in most low- and middle-income countries, with severe consequences for child development. Traditional methods of treatment and prevention, such as supplementation and fortification, have not always proven to be effective and may have undesirable side-effects (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAchieving a balanced and diverse diet remains a challenge for many people, contributing to an ongoing burden of micronutrient deficiencies, particularly in low-income settings. Fortification or dietary diversification are common food-based approaches. We conducted a scoping review to: 1) find evidence on whether combined food-based strategies are more effective than single strategies, and 2) understand how strategies implemented together could complement each other to achieve optimal nutritional impact on populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe estimated how micronutrient needs of young children, aged 6-24 months were covered by the standard (traditional) diets in Ghana and Benin, and the contributions of partial breastfeeding and national nutrition programs aimed at improving micronutrient status to overall micronutrient intakes. Estimates of micronutrient intake from standard diets were based on previous surveys, using the food composition table of West Africa (INFOOD). Recommended micronutrient intakes were based on World Health Organization recommendations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOverlapping micronutrient interventions might increase the risk of excessive micronutrient intake, with potentially adverse health effects. To evaluate how strategies currently implemented in Benin and Ghana contribute to micronutrient intake in women of reproductive age (WRA), and to assess the risk for excess intakes, scenarios of basic rural and urban diets were built, and different on-going interventions were added. We estimated micronutrient intakes for all different scenarios.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Anemia is a worldwide concern. Nutritional deficiencies and inflammation are considered main contributors, but zinc deficiency has only recently been associated with anemia.
Objectives: In this study we assessed associations between zinc status and hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations and anemia in preschool children 6-59 mo old (PSC) and nonpregnant women of reproductive age 15-49 y old (WRA) in population-based nutrition surveys.
Objective The SMILING (Sustainable Micronutrient Interventions to Control Deficiencies and Improve Nutritional Status and General Health in Asia) project aimed at creating awareness and improving policies around micronutrient deficiencies in five Southeast Asian countries (Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia). Results The project showed large gaps in recent data on micronutrient status in most of the five countries. By updating existing, or creating national food composition tables, the SMILING project enabled analyses of food consumption in women of reproductive age and young children.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Despite scientific evidence on the potential impact or importance of specific interventions to improve micronutrient status of vulnerable groups, political commitment and extensive support from national stakeholders is paramount to support introduction and implementation of these interventions at national level. In order to develop efficient nutritional strategies to improve the micronutrient status of children < 5 years of age and women of reproductive age that will be supported by a wide range of stakeholders, a better understanding of viewpoints on the nutrition politics and strategies is necessary. Multi-criteria mapping (MCM) was successfully used to assess the stakeholder's viewpoint in a wide variety of contexts since the late 1990s.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMalnutrition remains a serious health problem in Cambodia with over 10% of children less than five years of age suffering from acute malnutrition. In addition to the presence of nutritional edema, two indicators are recommended by the World Health Organization for the diagnosis of acute malnutrition: weight-for-height Z-scores (WHZ; with acute malnutrition defined as WHZ < −2 Z-score) and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC, with acute malnutrition defined as MUAC < 12.5 cm).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe would like to submit the following as a correction to our recently published paper [1] because of the use of the wrong cut-off for overweight.[..
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe study assessed the trends of nutritional status of children under age five in Cambodia over four DHS surveys from 2000 to 2014 and the contribution of socioeconomic and demographic factors to its changes. Undernutrition was a public health problem in all surveys. Despite consistent improvement over the years, stunting still affected 32.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed to describe the trends over four nationally representative Demographic Health Surveys (2000, 2005, 2010, and 2014) of the nutritional status of women of reproductive age in Cambodia and to assess the main factors of inequality with regards to nutrition. The prevalence of undernutrition and over-nutrition evolved in opposite trends from 2000 to 2014, with a significant decrease in underweight and a significant increase in overweight women. This results in a shift, with overweight prevalence in women being higher than underweight for the first time in 2014.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnrichment of durum wheat pasta with legume flour enhances their protein and essential amino acid content, especially lysine content. However, despite its nutritional potential, the addition of a legume alters the rheological properties of pasta. High temperature drying of pasta reduces this negative effect by strengthening its protein network.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStandardized techniques are still needed to characterize the consistency of gruels for infants in developing countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the interest of the use of the Bostwick consistometer. Bostwick flow was measured on gruels prepared with different flours, at low or high energy density (i.
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