Session 9 - Nutrition And Health

Question 1

What are growth references?

Answer 1

The values of weight and height for each age against which parents, caregivers and health workers measure the growth of the children under their care

Question 2

Define malnutrition

Answer 2

The cellular imbalance between the supply of nutrients and energy and the body’s demand for them to ensure growth, maintenance and specific functions

Question 3

Name 3 types of malnutrition

Answer 3

Wasting
Stunting
Micronutrient deficiency

Question 4

Wasting is also know as what type of malnutrition?

Answer 4

Acute malnutrition

Question 5

Stunting is also known as what type of malnutrition?

Answer 5

Chronic malnutrition

Question 6

What are the 2 forms of acute malnutrition?

Answer 6

Severe acute malnutrition
Moderate acute malnutrition

Question 7

What characterises severe acute malnutrition?

Answer 7

1. Presence of bilateral pitting pedal oedema
2. Severe wasting (very low weight for height/length. Less than -3SD)
3. A mid upper circumference (MUAC) of less than 11.5cm

Question 8

What characterises moderate acute malnutrition?

Answer 8

1. Moderate wasting (a low weight for height/length of SD between -2 and -3)
2. A mid upper circumference (MUAC) of between 11.5 and 12.4 cm
3. No oedema

Question 9

What are the WHO child growth standards used for?

Answer 9

1. Monitoring well-being
2. Detecting children not growing well
3. As a simple tool to assess effectiveness of interventions

Question 10

What is the difference between the older growth references and the newer WHO ones?

Answer 10

the older references describe how the average child grows while the newer ones assess weight and height/length of children against a standard optimum value.

Question 11

How do you interpret a weight-for age chart?

Answer 11

1. If the value is below the average, the child is underweight
2. If the value is above the average, the child is overweight

Question 12

How do you interpret a height (or length)-for-age chart?

Answer 12

1. If the value is below the average, the child is stunted
2. If the value is above the average, the child is tall

Question 13

How do you interpret a weight-for-height chart?

Answer 13

If the value is below the average, the child is wasted

Question 14

List the 6 milestones of the Windows of Achievement.

Answer 14

1. Sitting without support
2. Standing with assistance
3. Hands and knees crawling’
4. Walking with assistance
5. Standing alone
6. Walking alone

Question 15

What was faulty about older terminologies used for malnutrition?

Answer 15

They describe the effects of malnutrition but do not account for the variety of etiologies and dynamic interactions that are relevant to nutrition depletion in children

Question 16

Based on its etiology, what are the categories of malnutrition?

Answer 16

1. Illness related - secondary to one or more diseases/injury
2. Non-illness related - caused by environmental/behavioural factors
3. Both

Question 17

What is illness-related malnutrition?

Answer 17

Malnutrition that occurs as secondary to one or more diseases/injury

Question 18

What is non-illness related malnutrition?

Answer 18

Malnutrition that is caused by environmental or behavioural factors

Question 19

What is severe acute malnutrition ambulatory?

Answer 19

The number of children meeting the SAM case definition who are not admitted at a health facility but managed on an ambulatory basis

Question 20

Which SAM cases fall under Severe acute malnutrition ambulatory?

Answer 20

1. without oedema
2. no medical complications
3. good appetite (passes the Appetite Test)
4. presence of a reliable caregiver to look after the child at home

Question 21

What happens to the body during stunting?

Answer 21

the body adapts to a long-term lack of nutrients by giving priority to the needs of vital organs and functions rather than to growth in height.

Question 22

What are the optimum conditions for child growth?

Answer 22

1. healthy breastfeeding
2. provision of safe, wholesome and nutritionally appropriate foods during the period of complementary
3. provision of vaccinations and good health care

Question 23

How were the WHO Child Growth Standards developed?

Answer 23

They are a result of an intensive study initiated by WHO in 1997 to develop a new international standard for assessing the physical growth, nutritional status and motor development in childern from birth to 5 years of age

Question 24

What is the most important single threat to the world’s health?

Answer 24

Poor nutrition

Question 25

What is the reason why many malnourished children die?

Answer 25

1. They are vulnerable to repeated bouts of diseases and infection 2. Others become malnourished while suffering from infectious disease and are unable to recover

Question 26

What is the most common nutritional deficiency?

Answer 26

Iron deficiency

Question 27

Name the most prevalence micronutrient deficiencies.

Answer 27

1. Iron 2. Vitamin A 3. Zinc 4. Iodine

Question 28

What is the nutritional status of South Africa?

Answer 28

South Africa is in a nutrition transition

Question 29

What is a nutrition transition?

Answer 29

A state in which undernutrition, notably stunting and micronutrient deficiencies co-exist with a rising incidence of overweight and obesity

Question 30

What are the causes of malnutrition at the most immediate level?

Answer 30

Inadequate diet Infection

Question 31

Name 4 underlying factors that influence the primary causes of malnutrition

Answer 31

1. Food access and availability 2. Healthcare 3. Water and sanitation 4. The way a child is cared for

Question 32

What are the causes of malnutrition at the most basic level?

Answer 32

1. poverty 2. lack of resources 3. social, economic and political

Question 33

What are the clinical signs indicating or aggravating the severity of acute malnutrition?

Answer 33

Anorexia or poor appetite and medical complications

Question 34

What can result in a lack of vitamins and minerals in a child's diet?

Answer 34

A long-term lack of nutritious food or having an infection such as worms

Question 35

What is the prevalence of micronutrient malnutrition globally?

Answer 35

Micronutrient malnutrition is present in more than 2 billion or one in three people

Question 36

List 6 disease factors that negatively influence the digestion, absorption, transport and utilization of nutrients in the body.

Answer 36

1. HIV/AIDS 2. Tuberculosis 3. Gastroenteritis 4. Acute respiratory infections 5. Measles 6. Whooping cough

Question 37

List 4 basic causes of malnutrition

Answer 37

1. poverty 2. unemployment 3. poor use of technology 4. urbanisation

Question 38

Of the 13 Lancet Interventions, list the micronutrient interventions for pregnant or breastfeeding mothers.

Answer 38

9. improving nutrient intake through multiple micronutrient supplements 10. providing iodine through iodization o salt 11. providing iron and folate supplementation 12. providing calcium supplementation

Question 39

Of the 13 Lancet Interventions, list the interventions that encourage changes in behaviour to improve nutrition.

Answer 39

1. promoting breastfeeding for newborns at delivery 2. promoting exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months through individual and group counselling 3. promoting the best foods and best ways to feed children between the ages of 6 to 24 months 4. encouraging hand washing or other interventions that support better hygiene

Question 40

Of the 13 Lancet interventions, list the micronutrient interventions for infants and children.

Answer 40

5. increasing intake of zinc through supplementation 6. giving zinc to manage diarrhoea 7. providing vitamin A through fortification or supplementation 8. universal iodization of salt

Question 41

Of the 13 Lancet Interventions, name the therapeutic feeing intervention.

Answer 41

13. Treatment of severe acute malnutrition with special foods

Question 42

What are the 6 steps to tackling malnutrition?

Answer 42

1. Make malnutrition visible 2. Invest in direct interventions 3. Fill the health worker gap 4. Protect families from poverty 5. Harness agriculture to help tackle malnutrition 6. Galvanise political leadership

Question 43

Of the 13 Lancet Interventions, list the micronutrient interventions for pregnant or breastfeeding mothers.

Answer 43

9. improving nutrient intake through multiple micronutrient supplements 10. providing iodine through iodization o salt 11. providing iron and folate supplementation 12. providing calcium supplementation