Effectiveness of Nutrition Interventions for Children Aged 36-59 Months in a Suburban Preschool in Hanoi, Vietnam

Effectiveness of Nutrition Interventions for Children Aged 36-59 Months in a Suburban Preschool in Hanoi, Vietnam | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Effectiveness of Nutrition Interventions for Children Aged 36-59 Months in a Suburban Preschool in Hanoi, Vietnam Nguyen Thuy Linh, Ta Thanh Nga, Nguyen Thuy Trang, Pham Thi Tuyet Chinh, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8024341/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: Malnutrition remains a public health concern among preschool children in Vietnam, particularly in suburban areas. School-based interventions may effectively improve dietary intake and growth outcomes. Objective: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a structured nutrition intervention on the nutritional status, hemoglobin concentration, and dietary intake of children aged 36–59 months in a suburban preschool in Hanoi. Methods: A comparative before-and-after (CBA) design was implemented from January to December 2024 at Viet Hung Kindergarten, Dong Anh Town, Hanoi. Preschool children were assigned to either intervention or control groups. The intervention included caregiver and teacher nutrition education, school meal improvement, and promotion of healthy eating. Anthropometric indices, SpHb concentration, micronutrient deficiency symptoms, and dietary intake were assessed before and after the intervention. Results: At baseline, groups were comparable in age, weight, height, and nutritional status (p > 0.05). After 12 months, the intervention group showed greater gains in weight (0.73 ± 0.6 vs. 0.56 ± 0.58 kg, p = 0.0304) and height (2.07 ± 1.01 vs. 1.71 ± 1.26 cm, p = 0.0278). Significant improvements were observed in weight-forage and height-forage Z-scores, SpHb concentration (+0.8 g/dL, p < 0.001), and reductions in micronutrient deficiency symptoms (p < 0.05). Energy, protein, and calcium intakes increased significantly more in the intervention group than in controls (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The school-based nutrition intervention effectively improved growth, hemoglobin concentration, and dietary intake among preschoolers. These findings support implementing integrated nutrition programs in early childhood education settings in Vietnam. preschool children nutrition intervention micronutrient deficiency Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 02 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 27 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 27 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 21 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Nov, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 06 Nov, 2025 Editor invited by journal 05 Nov, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 05 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 05 Nov, 2025 First submitted to journal 03 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8024341","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":546030701,"identity":"30177ae9-a69d-403c-861d-b2fce0c04797","order_by":0,"name":"Nguyen Thuy Linh","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hanoi Medical University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nguyen","middleName":"Thuy","lastName":"Linh","suffix":""},{"id":546030702,"identity":"6d794939-7d72-4c4f-b187-b22e9c8590e6","order_by":1,"name":"Ta Thanh Nga","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hanoi Medical University 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School-based interventions may effectively improve dietary intake and growth outcomes. Objective: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a structured nutrition intervention on the nutritional status, hemoglobin concentration, and dietary intake of children aged 36–59 months in a suburban preschool in Hanoi.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMethods: A comparative before-and-after (CBA) design was implemented from January to December 2024 at Viet Hung Kindergarten, Dong Anh Town, Hanoi. Preschool children were assigned to either intervention or control groups. The intervention included caregiver and teacher nutrition education, school meal improvement, and promotion of healthy eating. Anthropometric indices, SpHb concentration, micronutrient deficiency symptoms, and dietary intake were assessed before and after the intervention.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eResults: At baseline, groups were comparable in age, weight, height, and nutritional status (p \u0026gt; 0.05). After 12 months, the intervention group showed greater gains in weight (0.73 ± 0.6 vs. 0.56 ± 0.58 kg, p = 0.0304) and height (2.07 ± 1.01 vs. 1.71 ± 1.26 cm, p = 0.0278). Significant improvements were observed in weight-forage and height-forage Z-scores, SpHb concentration (+0.8 g/dL, p \u0026lt; 0.001), and reductions in micronutrient deficiency symptoms (p \u0026lt; 0.05). Energy, protein, and calcium intakes increased significantly more in the intervention group than in controls (p \u0026lt; 0.001).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConclusion: The school-based nutrition intervention effectively improved growth, hemoglobin concentration, and dietary intake among preschoolers. 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