Serious Malnutrition in Malaysian Children
By Dato’ Dr. Amar Singh HSS
December 2023 FEATURE
ONE MAY THINK that in Malaysia, where food is easily available, malnutrition would not be a significant issue. The reality is not too far from grim, however. There is a growing concern over the increasing cases of stunting (impaired development) among children in the country, often caused by malnutrition.Growth in children can be measured and monitored using appropriate anthropometric indicators such as height and weight. Using World Health Organisation (WHO) standardised growth charts, we can then identify if a child...
References
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- [2] Institute for Public Health (IPH), National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia. 2020. National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019: Vol. I: NCDs – Non-Communicable Diseases: Risk Factors and other Health Problems. https://iku.gov.my/nhms-2019
- [3] Merdeka Centre October 2020 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cnainsider/poor-malaysiacope-challenges-posed-covid19-pandemic-poverty-692066
- [4] Amar-Singh HSS (2019). Malnutrition and Poverty among the Orang Asli (Indigenous) Children of Malaysia. Submission for UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Poverty/VisitsContributions/Malaysia/IndigenousChildren.pdf
- [5] Chii-Chii Chew, HasniAdha Ibrahim, Venugopalan K. Balan, Nor-Azizah Abd-Aziz, Hooi-Meng Puah & Amar-Singh HSS. Growth management and prevalence of underweight of indigenous children (Orang Asli) in Peninsular Malaysia: a clinical audit. BMC Pediatr 22, 481 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-022-03532-7.
- [6] National Health and Morbidity Survey 2017: Adolescent Nutrition Survey. National Institute of Health, MOH. https://iku.gov.my/nhms-2017
Dato’ Dr. Amar Singh HSS
is a consultant paediatrician and a child and disability activist. He has been supporting and
working with NGOs and individuals to support
disadvantaged and marginalised children.
