Effect of nutritional intervention on anthropometric measurements of malnourished children at Nutritional Rehabilitation Center, Civil Hospital Ahmedabad under “Mission Balam Sukham” scheme

CONTEXT: In Gujarat, 39.7% of children are underweight and 10.6% are severely wasted in under five years of age. Nutritional rehabilitation centers started by the Government of Gujarat under the “Mission Balam Sukham” program focused at providing an energy-dense diet and protein along with other nutrients to combat malnutrition in children by hospital admission. AIM: To estimate the effect of nutritional intervention on Anthropometric measurements of malnourished children at Nutritional Rehabilitation Center (NRC), Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted at the NRC of B. J. Medical College, Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. METHODS AND MATERIAL: It was a hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted at NRC, Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad from January 2017 till December 2017 (1-year duration). A total of 159 children, 0–5 years were admitted in NRC during this period and observed during their stay with three follow-up visits. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Z-test, one-way ANOVA on repeated measures test. RESULTS: The majority of the admitted children were in the age group of 12–23 months. Overall mean weight at admission was 6.1 ± 1.7 Kg. The increase in mean weight at discharge was 6.5 ± 1.9 Kg. The mean weight on the third follow-up was 7.4 ± 1.9 Kg. Nearly 62.3% of severely malnourished children had improvement (cured) after treatment that was given during NRC admission. CONCLUSIONS: The present study confirmed the effectiveness of nutrition rehabilitation centers in the management of severe acute malnutrition.