Survey on diet of children set this June

A survey to see whether children in the Commonwealth are at risk of nutrition-related diseases and deficiencies would be held this June and July on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.

The Department of Public Health, together with the Northern Marianas College-Cooperative Research Extension and Education Service, held a media conference yesterday morning at the NMC-CREES conference room to announce the project, which is being undertaken in collaboration with the University of Hawaii.

DPH deputy secretary Pete Untalan, CREES director Anthony Benavente, and project leader Rachel Novotny have been working since last year to coordinate the study.

The survey will be conducted starting on June 20 to July 7 on the three main islands of the Northern Marianas.

The team will start the fieldwork at 9:30am and end at 6pm on those dates. Benavente said the team has been trained to do the survey and will travel from village to village and house to house to conduct interviews with parents and screenings of their children.

The survey would have a random sampling of 420 children from ages six months to 10 years old. The survey also aims to identify the health needs of the children.

Information culled would then be used to design targeted programs aimed at improving the health of children in the Commonwealth.

Among the health screenings that would be conducted are blood pressure, cholesterol, and hemoglobin level tests.

The team will also conduct dental examinations to identify decaying, filled, and missing teeth, as well as check whether any of the children have inflamed or bleeding gums.

The team will also check if the children have any skin rashes and determine early signs of puberty.

NMC-CREES will collect dietary and physical activity information of the children, while the University of Hawaii will conduct the “anthropometrics” of the children, where they will check the children’s weight and height to calculate their “Body Mass Index” and arm circumference.

The DPH said referrals would be made for any abnormal screening levels observed and parents will immediately be informed about the findings. Survey results will also be formally presented to the community after being analyzed.

Untalan, Benavente and the rest of the team set to conduct the survey are encouraging parents to take part in the project.

They said the perks for participating in the survey is a free health screening for their children without them having to go to a clinic. Results will be given in an instant for the parents’ reference.