Linear Programming Optimization of Local Food-Based Recommendations for Undernourished Urban Poor Malaysian Children Aged 2 to 5 Years.

Background: Poor diet quality may contribute to undernutrition, particularly affecting young children from low-income households. Therefore, affordable and healthy local food-based recommendations (FBRs) are needed.

Objectives: This study aimed to (1) identify problem nutrient(s), (2) identify locally available nutrient-dense food sources that can provide adequate nutrients to meet the recommended dietary intakes of undernourished urban poor children aged 2-5 years, and (3) use linear programming to recommend a daily diet based on the current food patterns that achieves dietary adequacy and meets average food costs for these children.