Respiratory infection, diarrhea and fever are three common infections in underfive children; there are substantial differences in the reported prevalence and ranking of these three morbidities between studies and surveys. Seasonal and year to year variation in prevalence of morbidity and impact of health care on the duration and severity of infection has not been explored. A large scale mixed longitudinal study of under-five children from urban low income households was carried out to document year to year and seasonal variations in the prevalence and type of morbidity and utilization of health care for morbidity and their impact on duration and severity of morbidity. Between January 2012 and Dec 2015 a total of 3888 pre-school children were investigated and 74636 observations were made; prevalence of morbidity was 10.3% (range 7.2%-11.6%). Prevalence of morbidity was higher between July and October. Respiratory infection was the most common and diarrhea was the least common illness in children. Over years there was a rise in the respiratory illness because of increase in construction activity in the study area. There was a fall in diarrhoeal diseases after construction of water supply and drainage system. Majority of the households accessed health care; as a result duration of illness was short and severe morbidity was rare. Improvement in environmental hygiene can result in reduction in morbidity. Access to health care reduces duration and severity of infection.

The nutrition transition in Malaysia has had profound impact on the nutritional status of national population especially in children below five years. There exists paucity in the data that address the nutritional status of aboriginal children that may impair intervention programme.  Hence the study aims to assess and appraise the nutritional status of Semai Orang Asli children under five years and identify the determinants of nutritional status to strengthen baseline data. A total of 340 Semai children (179 males and 161 female children from Perak were recruited for the study. All information pertaining to demographic, socio-economic and educational status were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. All children were subjected to nutritional anthropometry and clinical examination using standard procedures. A one-day dietary record was done on a sub-sample of 140 children between 12 and 59 months. About 32.7% of the Semai children were underweight 28.2% were stunted and 52% showed wasting. Body Mass Index (BMI) revealed 52% of children with moderate to severe thinness. The existence of malnutrition was higher among female children. Twenty-eight percent were identified with any form of nutritional deficiencies and did not meet the Recommended Nutrient Intake for any measured nutrient. Poverty, illiteracy, unavailability of food, location and proximity to procure food, lack of physical activity, poor sanitation and hygiene were the contributors to the poor nutritional status. Nutrition transition has had less or marginal impact on the nutritional status of the indigenous children which calls for immediate action and intervention.

No abstract

India is currently the home of the largest number of under-nourished and over-nourished children in the world. Data from longitudinal studies in India indicate that both under nutrition and over-nutrition in childhood is associated with higher risk of over-nutrition and noncommunicable diseases in adult life. A community based mixed longitudinal study of underfive children from urban low income families was taken up to assess their nutritional status. Weight was taken every month in all; length was measured every month in infants and height was measured once in three months in 1-5 year children. BMI was computed in all. Nutritional status was assessed using the WHO anthro software package. Between 2012 and 2015, 3888 pre-school children were enrolled (49.4% boys and 50.6% girls); mean age of these children at enrolment was 22.5±16.17 months. The mean Z scores for height for age was - 1.79; weight for age was - 1.41 and -0.47 for BMI for age. Prevalence of stunting was 43.4%; underweight was 31.9%, wasting was 12% and over-nutrition was between 3-5%. The reduction in wasting rate between 0-3 years was mainly due to the increase in prevalence of stunting. With universal screening for early detection of wasting and over-nutrition and effective management of these, it will be possible to achieve the WHA targets of reducing and maintaining wasting below 5% and preventing increase in over-nutrition in this population. This may reduce the risk of over-nutrition and non-communicable diseases in these children during their adult life.

Cauliflower greens is one such popularly consumed vegetable, possessing potent bioactive components where the leaves of the vegetables are often neglected or discarded and used as fodder. Hence an attempt was made to analyze the presence of different antioxidants such as DPPH, FRAP, SOD and Total antioxidant contents there by exploring the potential benefits of these leaves which is solely ignored by majority of population. The present study reveals that the presence of promising compounds can be consumed in regular diet in maintaining good health and can be technically applied in preparing natural therapeutic medicines to combat various degenerative diseases and can also be used in food processing industries due to its antimicrobial and antioxidant properties Cauliflower has a very high waste index, and this result throws  light on the importance and the properties of cauliflower leafs, thereby reducing  food wastage.