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Nutritional status of children in the Lao PDR
K Phimmasone1, I Douangpoutha, V Fauveau
1Mother and Child Health Institute, Ministry of Public Health, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
Insights
Child malnutrition in Laos remains very high, with nearly half of children under five stunted and 44% underweight. Rural children and those from ethnic minorities face the greatest risks, highlighting urgent public health needs.
Area of Science:
- Nutritional epidemiology
- Public health
- Child development
Background:
- Protein-energy malnutrition is a critical issue affecting child development globally.
- The Lao PDR has not had a recent national assessment of child nutritional status.
- Understanding current malnutrition prevalence is vital for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report the findings of the first nationally representative survey on child nutritional status in the Lao PDR.
- To assess the prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition, specifically stunting, wasting, and underweight.
- To identify subgroups of children most affected by malnutrition.
Main Methods:
- Nationally representative survey of children under 5 years of age in the Lao PDR.
- Assessment of anthropometric indicators: height-for-age (stunting), weight-for-height (wasting), and weight-for-age (underweight).
- Analysis of malnutrition prevalence across various child subgroups based on geography, ethnicity, maternal education, and sex.
Main Results:
- Prevalence of stunting is 48% ('very high'), wasting is 10% ('very high'), and underweight is 44% ('very high').
- Malnutrition rates are significantly higher in rural areas, among ethnic minorities, and children whose mothers have no formal education.
- Malnutrition prevalence shows little change compared to a survey conducted 10 years prior.
Conclusions:
- Child malnutrition, particularly stunting and underweight, remains a severe public health problem in the Lao PDR.
- Socioeconomic and geographic disparities significantly influence malnutrition risk.
- Sustained and targeted interventions are necessary to address the persistent high rates of child malnutrition.
Abstract:
The results of the first nationally representative survey of nutritional status of children in the Lao PDR, focusing on the assessment of protein-energy malnutrition are described. Among children under 5 years of age, the prevalence of stunting (children of short stature, below -2 Z-scores height-for-age) is 48 per cent, which is classified by WHO as a 'very high' prevalence, greater than the average of developing countries in the world and in South-East Asia. The prevalence of wasting (children too thin, below -2 Z-scores weight-for-height) is 10 per cent, also 'very high', and slightly greater than the average of South-East Asian children. The prevalence of children underweight (below -2 Z-scores weight-for-age) is 44 per cent, again 'very high' and significantly greater than the average of developing countries in the world and in South-East Asia. Significant differences are observed in the prevalence of both stunting and wasting when comparing subgroups of children: urban children are less stunted and wasted than rural children, children of the lowland majority less than children of ethnic minorities, and children whose mothers had completed primary education less than children whose mothers had never been to school. Girls are less malnourished than boys, but not significantly so. Similar prevalences of stunted and underweight children are noted when comparing with the results of a national survey made in the Lao PDR 10 years ago, although the sampling was not the same.