The Relationship between Energy, Nutrition, and Dietary Fiber Intake with the Nutritional Status of Down Syndrome Children

Abstract

Down syndrome is one of the disability conditions that can reduce productivity especially if coming with nutritional problems. Overweight is a nutritional problem that often occurs on Down Syndrome children. This research was aimed to understand the relationship between energy, nutrition, and fiber intake and the nutritional status of Down syndrome children. The design of this study was a cross-sectional study. As many as 50 samples were selected using purposive sampling from five extraordinary schools in Magetan East Java. Structured interviews and a 2x24 hour recall questionnaire were conducted with mothers of Down Syndrome children. According to the z-score of BMI for age, 40.0% of children in this study were overweight and obese, 52.0% was normal, and 8.0% was found to have thin and severely thin nutritional status. Based on the bivariate analysis, energy intake, carbohydrate intake, and fiber intake were not significantly associated with the nutritional status of children with Down syndrome (p>0.05). Protein intake (p=0.018) and fat intake (p=0.027) were significantly associated with the nutritional status of children with