Investigation of dietary practices of mother-child pairs in rural and urban settings in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study undertaken is a descriptive, quantitative, cross-sectional study. In line with the study's Aims, the research collected data on dietary practices and nutritional statuses of mothers and children aged 6-23 months. Dietary practices were determined using the 24-hour recall, which was used to determine the nutrient intakes of mothers and children and food group intakes to determine the minimum dietary diversity. Additionally, breastfeeding practices were determined using a structured questionnaire. The nutritional status was determined using anthropometric measurements including; weight, height or length for children and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC). Weight and height are used to determine the body mass index (BMI) for mothers and to compute Z-scores in line with the World Health Organization's growth charts for children. The data derived from these investigations provided information on the proportions of stunted, wasted and underweight children as well as underweight and overweight/obese mothers. Nutritional data sheds light on the average (mean) intakes and standard deviations of the essential nutrients necessary to sustain health during the COVID-19 pandemic

本研究是一项描述性、定量性、横断面研究。遵循研究目标，本研究收集了6至23个月龄的母亲和儿童的饮食习惯及营养状况数据。饮食习惯通过24小时回顾法确定，此法用于确定母亲和儿童的能量摄入以及食物摄入组，以确定最低膳食多样性。此外，母乳喂养习惯通过结构化问卷进行评估。营养状况通过人体测量学指标确定，包括儿童的体重、身高或长度以及上臂围（MUAC）。体重和身高用于计算母亲的体重指数（BMI），并根据世界卫生组织儿童生长图计算儿童的Z分数。这些调查所得数据提供了关于生长发育迟缓、消瘦和体重不足儿童的比例，以及体重不足和超重/肥胖母亲的比例的信息。营养数据揭示了在COVID-19大流行期间维持健康所需的必需营养素的平均（均值）摄入量和标准差。