Effect of Nutritional Intervention on Physical Growth in Children at Risk of Malnutrition

This 4-month study evaluated the effects of oral nutritional supplementation and dietary counseling on the growth and nutritional status of an outpatient pediatric population at risk of malnutrition. A total of 174 subjects, aged 12 months to 10 years, received a daily nutritional supplement (Rinforza) and nutritional counseling was provided to their parents. Almost all patients (97%) had dietary intake at baseline that was insufficient or slightly insufficient/not well balanced. Following 4 months of nutritional intervention, adequate intake was observed in 72% of patients. The percentage of subjects with weight-for-height below the 25th percentile decreased from 56% at baseline to 45% after 2 months and 42% after 4 months of nutritional intervention. These differences were statistically significant at 4 months (p=0.007) but not at 2 months. Similarly, the mean weight-for-height percentile for all subjects increased from 27.6 at baseline to 29.1 after 2 months (p=0.084) and 33.9 after 4 months (p<0.001). The results of this study indicate that nutritional supplementation, together with nutritional counseling, can improve food intake and growth in children at risk for malnutrition. Int Pediatr.