Investigation Of The Nutritional Status And Its Influence Factors Of Migrant Children In Wuhan City

Objective:To understand nutritional status of migrant children in Wuhan city and explore its effective factors,in order to provide scientific basis about formulating nutrition promotion strategies for migrant children.Methods:Two primary schools with higher proportion of migrant children were chosen by cluster sampling in Hongshan district,and all students from grades 3 to 6 and their guardians were selected as respondents.The 24-hour recall was used to conduct 3-day dietary survey at those schools and physical measurement was performed on the students.Meanwhile,two questionnaires on family factors,nutrition knowledge,attitude and practice were conducted between students and their guardians.Result:A total of 772 migrant children were surveyed,including 441 boys（57.1%）and331 girls（42.9%）.（1）Dietary survey results showed that participants’dietary structure were unreasonable,and those intakes of fish and shrimps,eggs,soybeans and their products,milk and dairy products were obviously insufficient,and the intakes of cereals and livestock and poultry meat were basically up to the recommended intake.;The numbers of boys and girls with insufficient energy were 199（46.1%）and 142（44.4%）respectively,and the numbers of pupils with insufficient protein were 173（40.1%）and208（65.1%）respectively;In terms of vitamins,more than 60%of children were deficient in vitamin A,vitamin B₁,and vitamin B₂;in terms of minerals,nearly 100%of participants were deficient in calcium,more than 60%of participants are deficient in selenium and zinc.（2）The results of growth development survey showed that the averages of height and weight in migrant children were lower than national children,and the difference in each group was statistically significant（P<0.05）;The incidences of emaciation,overweight and obesity among boys were 8.0%、15.8%、10.1%,those incidences among girls were 4.7%、9.0%、7.0%.（3）The results of nutrition KAP questionnaire survey showed that the average awareness rate of migrant children’s nutrition knowledge was 78.5%,and age,gender,and number of children were the influencing factors of nutritional knowledge scores.The results of multivariate analysis showed that older（β=0.27,P<0.05）and girls（β=0.11,P<0.05）are positively associated,while the number of children（β=-0.06,P<0.05）was negatively correlated with nutritional knowledge.The incidence of unhealthy dietary behaviors of students was 28.1%⁵9.6%.The average awareness rate of guardian’s nutrition knowledge was only 67.5%,father’s education level,mother’s education level,source of family income,and family housing status are the influencing factors of nutrition knowledge score.The results of multivariate analysis showed that parents’education levels（β=0.23,P<0.05;β=0.12,P<0.05）were positively correlated with the score of nutrition knowledge,while the source of family income（β=-0.08,P<0.05）was negatively correlated.The incidence of unhealthy dietary behaviors among family members was 19.4%⁶5.3%.Conclusion:The nutritional status of migrant children in the area was not optimistic.It showed that dietary structure was unreasonable,intakes of energy and varieties of nutrients were inadequate,low energy intake of breakfast,and high energy intake of dinner and snacks,and there are also double problems of emaciation,overweight and obesity.The characteristics of lack of nutrition knowledge,negative nutrition attitude,and unhealthy dietary behaviors were coexisting among participants.Nutrition education should be carried out systematically,especially to improve the group’s nutritional knowledge,guide children’s scientific and reasonable diets,and lay a solid foundation for the nutrition promoting of migrant children.