Examining Malnutrition in Children in Iraq

“You’re so skinny!” These are the words that are usually spoken to children who are suffering from starvation or malnutrition. Malnutrition continues to be a social problem that affects millions of children throughout the world. Most research on malnutrition has investigated how growing up in poverty can affect a child’s diet. However, more studies are needed to determine how war can affect the health of a child. Therefore, although educational and employment levels have been known to influence malnutrition in children, new research has proven that living in unsafe neighborhoods and having at least one family member killed during the past five years are the leading causes of malnutrition in children who have been affected by war.

In the article “Malnutrition among 3 to 5 Years old Children in Baghdad City, Iraq: A Cross-sectional Study,” the authors conducted a study to determine factors that contributed to children’s malnutrition. In the study, Ghazi et al. used a cross-sectional design that sampled “220 children aged between 3 and 5 years selected randomly from four different kindergartens in Baghdad city in May 2009” (351). The participant’s parents were given a questionnaire that assessed their educational levels, work history, and living situation, while the subjects in the study were weighed. The study found that although “educational levels and employment statuses of parents did not contribute to malnutrition in children, living in unsafe neighborhoods and having at least one family member killed during the past five years significantly contributed to malnutrition” (Ghazi et al. 350). As a result, these findings confirm that malnutrition equally affects males and females when they have been victims of war.

After reviewing the study, it has been determined that the authors successfully argued their perspective because their findings confirmed the objective of the study. The authors posited that living in insecure environments could influence malnutrition in children, and the findings verified that unstable living situations did contribute to malnutrition in the study’s subjects (Ghazi et al.). Interestingly, the study revealed that most children that were malnourished had mothers who worked outside of the home (Ghazi et al.), and the authors accurately explained that a mother’s employment status could mean that children are not being properly fed when a mother is not at home to provide them with meals.

While the authors successfully argued their perspective, it is this opinion that the study should be followed up since the study only investigated malnutrition in children at a specific time in their lives. Ghazi et al explained that “cross-sectional designs only measure the prevalence at a specific point of time in specified areas” (354). Therefore, the subjects in this study should be retested for malnutrition as they age to determine if living arrangements and the death of a family member influenced malnutrition throughout childhood. On the other hand, a study could be conducted on children living in other conflict zones, such as Afghanistan, to validate the findings that the effects of war directly contribute to childhood malnutrition.

To conclude, although educational and employment levels have been known to influence malnutrition in children, new research has proven that living in unsafe neighborhoods and having at least one family member killed during the past five years are the leading causes of malnutrition in children who have been affected by war. A cross-sectional study that examined malnutrition in children living in Iraq confirmed that living in insecure environments could influence malnutrition. However, due to the fact that the study only investigated malnutrition in children at one specific point in their lives, follow up studies should be conducted to validate the findings of the authors.