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SEANUTS study design and methodology

The South East Asian Nutrition Survey (referred to as SEANUTS) is the largest and most extensive multi-centric nutrition and health study ever done in Southeast Asia. It was conducted by leading universities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. This study investigated anthropometry, dietary intake, nutritional status, physical activity levels and cognition of 16,744 children between the ages of six months and twelve years, using a randomized multistage cluster design. The subjects were nationally representative per age group and residence in each country.

Child health and nutrition in four countries

Growing Child 1

In order to collect up-to-date health and nutritional data, well-designed nationwide surveys are necessary. In 2009, the multinational food company Royal FrieslandCampina commissioned SEANUTS to gain better insight into dietary imbalances that result in over- or undernutrition of children. In each of the four participating countries (see table 1 for countries, institutes and principal investigators), children aged 0.5-12 years were recruited using a randomized multistage cluster or stratified random sampling methodology. Trained field teams were responsible for recruitment and data collection.

Data collection

Nutrition and health status of children was assessed using data on growth and body composition, physical activity, bone quality, development and cognition, food intake and food habits, and biochemical status of iron, vitamins A and D. In Thailand, the researchers also studied the lipid profile in blood, whereas in Indonesia, iodine excretion in urine was analyzed. All assessments were carried out using standardized and validated methods. Biochemical data were analyzed in certified laboratories. The study protocols and methodology were aligned where practically possible. Reference standards used for the various health and nutrition parameters are shown in table 2.

Study population

In total, 16,744 children participated in this study. An overview of age groups per country is presented in table 3. The number of participants to be included was based on the potential occurrence of anemia (18-25%), and/or vitamin A deficiency (19-22%), and/or being underweight (9-18.4%), depending on likely nutritional problems per country.

The data produced as a result of SEANUTS depict the current nutrition and health status of children in South East Asia. Leading SEANUTS scientist, Dr. Panam Parikh says: “It is the scale and magnitude of SEANUTS which makes it unique. The assessments in this survey included dietary intakes, food habits, nutritional status, growth, body composition, physical activity, and cognitive development and performance – all in a country-representative sample of infants and children between the ages of six months and twelve years. This information serves as an evaluation of the ongoing efforts to counter malnutrition in the region, and as a tool to identify areas and age groups most at need of intervention.”

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Reference

Schaafsma A et al. Design of the South East Asian Nutrition Survey (SEANUTS): a four-country multistage cluster design study. British Journal of Nutrition (2013), 110, S2–S10.