Nutritional Status of Children in Tarlac City

Abstract

To eradicate hunger and improve the nutritional status of children in Tarlac City, the study addressed the issue of child malnutrition in line with the government's goal of ensuring the well-being of children and reducing poverty nationwide. This study aimed to contribute to the management and enhancement of healthcare services in the city and the strengthening of primary healthcare through various strategies. Health workers played a pivotal role in describing and evaluating the nutritional status in Tarlac City, working alongside parents to educate them on how to provide their children with safe and nutritious food while managing their food preferences.

Documentary analysis and quantitative descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The use of convenience sampling was done as it is a branch of sample selection that employs non-random methods to choose a group of people. The study described and evaluated several indicators, including Weight for Age, Height for Age, Weight for Height/Length, and family profiles, including income. The research was limited in scope to Tarlac City, encompassing its 76 barangays. The findings of the study found majority of children, was weight for age had been classified "Normal (N)" with a total of 28,985 all over the Barangay of Tarlac City, while the "Severely underweight (SUW)" had the smallest number of groups with 110 children in this case. As to family income, most of the families earn 5,000 to 10,000 pesos a month. The lowest income was 2,000 to 4,000 pesos a month. The majority of the nutritional practices done was on parents' "Decision of choice of food" with a frequency of 225 and 59.21% out of 380 parent respondents. The least nutritional practices of parents for their children were the "Family practices" with a frequency of 125 and 32.89% out of the 280 parent respondents.

Lastly, the researcher proposed intervention measures which could help to enhance the health status of the children which include: Promoting free Seedlings for sustainable health development; Granting Benefits Discounts for Children Nutrients; Parents Training and Seminar for Children Development and awareness to Nutrition; and Competitive Health Workers for better Health Services. These were suggested to give the children, parents and the community a stronger approach to fighting malnutrition and natural awareness for good and quality food habits.