Has the pandemic affected the prevalence of malnutrition?

Malnutrition, a significant public health issue worldwide, is associated with increased mortality and morbidity in children. Although some progress had been made before the pandemic to reduce its prevalence, it is believed that the target was not fully achieved. It has been reported that the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to malnutrition in children in the long term. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition in children after the pandemic. A total of 1815 children aged 2 months to 18 years who visited the Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University Pediatric Outpatient Clinic for any reason between September 2022 and 2023 and agreed to participate were included. Anthropometric measurements were recorded to determine the prevalence of malnutrition. The findings were divided into age groups and compared with the 2018 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS-2018), UNICEF/WHO data, and local studies conducted in Turkey and worldwide. The prevalence of wasting and obesity among all children (n = 1815) was 21.4% (n = 389) and 13.3% (n = 242), respectively. The proportion of children with low weight-for-age was 4.8% (n = 88). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of wasting and obesity between genders. Among wasted children, 10.3% (n = 40/389) were stunted, compared to 2.3% (n = 33/1426) of non-wasted children. The difference in stunting between the two groups was statistically significant (p < 0.0001). Our study revealed that the prevalence of wasting and obesity in children increased after the pandemic.