Nutrition Intervention of Complementary Milk Feeding to Improve Linear Growth of at Risk and Stunted Children

Nutrition Intervention of Complementary Milk Feeding to Improve Linear Growth of at Risk and Stunted Children Aged Between 12-36 Months

This is a non-randomized open label 6 months intervention study that aims to assess the effectiveness of consuming milk daily for 6 months will improve the linear growth rate of children aged 12-36 months.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Malaysian child
2. Boys and girls between the age of 12 and 36 months
3. Length-for-age z score (LAZ) <-1.5 SD and > -3 SD according to the WHO Growth standard
4. Weight-for-age z score WAZ <1.0 SD and > -3 SD
5. Parents and/or legal guardian who can speak and read Malay or English language
6. Written informed consent from parents and/or legal guardian
7. Child who are apparently healthy with no obvious on-going infection and no history of chronic illness.
8. Child with no physical and/or mental illness
9. Parents and/or legal guardian who owns a mobile phone or smart phone
10. Mothers who have ever received breastfeeding counselling from a qualified breastfeeding counsellor.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Child with zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP) value of >65 (at either -T3 or T0)
2. Clinical symptoms of iron deficiency as examined by Doctor even with zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP) value between 40-64
3. Child with severe acute malnutrition, other chronic diseases or any congenital disorder or deformity
4. Child with an ongoing episode of diarrhoea or a history of persistent diarrhoea in the past month
5. Child with history of cow's milk allergy/intolerance to milk
6. Child who is already taking multivitamins, including iron, before enrolled to the study
7. Child who is taking breastmilk as part of the diet