The Importance of Nutritional Screening for Your Little One's Health

Nutrition screening is an evaluation process to assess a person's nutritional status, and can also be applied to children. Simply put, this screening process will help mothers understand whether their little one's nutritional intake has been met properly or not. Why is this screening necessary to maintain health? Come on, Mother, see the answer in the following article.

The Importance of Nutritional Screening to Prevent Children's Health Problems

Nutrition screening is a way to detect early whether your little one is experiencing or has the potential to become malnourished, so the aim is to prevent a further decline in nutritional status. This process can take place with a series of tests and tools, and can easily be carried out by a doctor or other medical personnel.

Mothers need to carry out nutritional screening on their little one periodically, so that they can find out whether they are getting adequate and balanced nutrition during this time. If a nutritional imbalance is found, you can immediately carry out appropriate treatment based on advice from a doctor or nutritionist.

Nutritional problems such as deficiencies or excesses can have an impact on your little one's growth and development. According to a study reported by Science Direct, a person's nutritional intake and nutritional status have a major impact on their body's ability to deal with disease. So by anticipating this, mothers can ensure that their little one gets proper and healthy nutrition to support their growth and development.

Types of Child Nutrition Screening

There are various types of nutritional screening that can be done, ranging from simple to more complex.

There are at least two simple nutritional screenings that can be done at home. The first test is an anthropometric test, namely measuring your little one's height, weight, head and arm circumference. The results are then compared with the growth standards of children his age.

The second test consists of recording your little one's daily eating pattern and intake which is matched with nutritional adequacy figures according to their age. However, this kind of test will be more valid if it is consulted with a doctor who understands what is a good and balanced daily intake for your little one according to their age.

More in-depth screening is usually carried out in clinics or hospitals and is carried out by trained medical personnel. The doctor will check whether there are signs of physical deficiencies in the child such as hair loss, dry skin, and others. Then, testing can be continued with routine lab examinations to determine the nutritional levels in your little one's body. In this way, follow-up will be carried out professionally and problems with child nutrition can be handled in a more focused manner.

Child Nutrition Screening Method

Various nutritional screening methods have been developed to identify the risk of malnutrition and consist of many types. Here are some of them, reported by the Indonesian Food and Nutrition Network:

Subjective Global Assessment (SGA)

The assessment is based on the patient's history and physical observation with question points consisting of changes in body weight, changes in food intake, gastrointestinal symptoms, functional capacity, and metabolic assumptions of the disease condition.
Pediatric Yorkhill Malnutrition Score (PYMS)

This method determines four predictor measures for symptoms of malnutrition from body mass index, history of weight loss, changes in nutritional intake, and the effect of disease conditions when assessing the patient's nutritional status.

Pediatric Nutrition Screening Tool (PNST)

Consists of simple questions with yes or no answers. This method checks for weight loss, lack of weight gain, decreased nutritional intake, and visibility of underweight or overweight. Two yes answers will indicate predicted nutritional risk.

Subjective Global Nutrition Assessment (SGNA)

Consists of a physical examination as well as data regarding the child's weight and height/length, parents' height, food intake, gastrointestinal symptoms, functional capacity, and diseases suspected of causing metabolic stress.

There are several other methods that are also often practiced in hospitals. Some of them are aimed at symptoms of malnutrition in children who are diagnosed with certain diseases, to those aimed at babies with special conditions.

By understanding the importance of nutritional screening and having knowledge about the types and methods used, mothers are increasingly prepared to be proactive parents in maintaining the health of their little ones. The results of the nutritional screening also give mothers insight into your little one's nutritional status. To understand more about the characteristics of healthy children, come on, read the article here: Characteristics of Healthy Children and Optimal Growth and Development