Peer-reviewed article
Impact of Date-tempeh Biscuit on the Nutritional Status of Stunted and Wasted Toddlers
Fatmah Fatmah ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study tested whether a biscuit made from dates and tempeh could improve nutrition in toddlers who were underweight or too short for their age. Seventy toddlers ate 50 grams of these biscuits daily for 90 days while receiving nutrition education. Wasted toddlers gained an average of 1.9 kg and grew 2.5 cm taller. The study found that children who ate more of the biscuits showed better improvements in weight and height, particularly when their carbohydrate and fat intake increased.
Key points
- Wasted toddlers had mean weight gain of 1.9 kg over 90 days
- Wasted toddlers showed highest mean height increase of 2.5 cm
- Adherence to date-tempeh biscuit consumption significantly affected nutritional status across all groups (p = 0.015)
- Carbohydrate intake difference was positively correlated with weight changes (r = 0.26, p = 0.03)
- Fat intake difference was significantly related to final weight (r = 0.254, p = 0.034)
Limitations
The document does not specify the country where the study was conducted, making it difficult to assess generalisability to other contexts. No comparison group received alternative treatment or no intervention, limiting conclusions about whether date-tempeh biscuits are more effective than other nutritional approaches.
Abstract
Background and Objective: The nutritional problems in stunted and wasted toddlers decrease cognitive development and child productivity. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of date-tempeh biscuit consumption on the change in nutritional status of stunted and wasted toddlers. Methodology: A quasi-experimental design was used in a study conducted on 70 toddlers who consumed 50 g of biscuits for 90 days. Weight and height measurement done at pre-post study and bi-weekly. Nutrition education undertaken by research team in collaboration with integrated service post for under-five children cadres bi-weekly. Results: The nutritional status of children under five was stunted (31.4%), wasted (24.3%), normal (24.3%) and stunted-wasted (20%). Mean height per age (H/A) of stunted toddlers was -3.2±1.2, weight per height (W/H) of wasted toddlers was -3.1±1.7 and H/A and W/H of stunted-wasted toddlers were 3.3 for each measure. Wasted toddlers had a mean weight change of 1.9 kg and the highest increase in mean height of wasted toddlers was 2.5 cm. Wasted toddlers had the highest percentage of date-tempeh biscuit consumption (29%). Adherence to the recommendations for date-tempeh biscuit consumption affected the nutritional status of children under five in all groups (p = 0.015). Carbohydrate intake difference was correlated positively with weight changes (r = 0.26, p = 0.03). There was a significant relationship between the difference in fat intake with final weight (r = 0.254, p = 0.034). Conclusion: Date-tempeh biscuits can increase weight and height in wasted, stunted and wasted-stunted toddlers during 3 months of intervention.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Consumption of date-tempeh biscuits (50 g daily) combined with bi-weekly nutrition education for 90 days
- Population
- 70 toddlers with stunting (31.4%), wasting (24.3%), or both (20%)
Key finding
Wasted toddlers gained mean weight of 1.9 kg over 90 days