The relation between “Picky Eating” behavior and nutritional status of pre-school children

ABSTRAK

Latar Belakang: Picky eating dicirikan sebagai penolakan terhadap jenis makanan tertentu. Perilaku makan ini berpotensi menyebabkan masalah pada status gizi karena asupan makan yang tidak adekuat. Status gizi yang bermasalah ini dapat menyebabkan berbagai gangguan, kekurangan gizi menyebabkan perkembangan fisik dan mental tertunda, menurunkan kapasitas intelektual dan meningkatkan kerentanan terhadap penyakit, sedangkan kelebihan nutrisi meningkatkan kerentanan terhadap penyakit metabolik dan kardiovaskular.

Tujuan: Menentukan prevalensi picky eating dan hubungan picky eating dengan status gizi anak prasekolah di Kecamatan Rajabasa Bandar Lampung.

Metode: Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kuantitatif dengan pendekatan cross- sectional. Sampel terdiri atas 160 anak prasekolah berusia 36-72 tahun (3-6 tahun) pada PAUD di Kecamatan Rajabasa Bandar Lampung. Sampel diambil menggunakan metode Multistage Random Sampling dan dianalisis menggunakan uji Chi Square.

Hasil: Sebanyak 100 anak (62,5%) teridentifikasi sebagai picky eater. Sebanyak 21 anak (13,1%) memiliki status gizi kurus berdasarkan IMT/U, 118 anak (73,8%) normal, dan 21 anak (13,1%) tergolong gemuk. Secara statistik, tidak ada hubungan antara perilaku makan picky eating dengan status gizi anak prasekolah dengan nilai p = 0,914.

Kesimpulan: Prevalensi picky eating sebesar 62,5% dan tidak ada hubungan antara picky eating dengan gizi anak prasekolah di Kecamatan Rajabasa Bandar Lampung.

KATA KUNCI: picky eating; prasekolah; status gizi

 

ABSTRACT

Background: Picky eating is characterized by the refusal of a certain type of food. This eating behavior potentially causes a nutritional status problem because of inadequate intake of food. This nutritional status can lead to many problems, undernutrition causes delayed mental and physical development, decrease intellectual capacity, and higher susceptibility to disease, while overnutrition increases the susceptibility of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.

Objectives: This study aims to determine the prevalence of picky eating and the relation of picky eating behavior and nutritional status of pre-school children in Rajabasa Bandar Lampung.

Methods: This study uses a quantitative method with a cross-sectional approach. The sample consisted of 160 pre-school children aged 36-72 months (3-6 years) in kindergartens located in the Rajabasa subdistrict, Bandar Lampung. Sampling was done by multistage random sampling and the data were analyzed by chi-square test.

Results: As many as 100 preschool children (62.5%) were identified as picky eaters. A total of 21 children (13.1%) were classified as thin by BMI/Age nutritional status, 118 children (73,8%) were normal, and 21 children (13.1%) were overweight. Statistically, picky eating behavior is not related to the nutritional status of preschool children with a p-value = 0.914.

Conclusions: The prevalence of picky eating is 62.5% and there is no relation between picky eating behavior and the nutritional status of pre-school children in Rajabasa Bandar Lampung.

KEYWORDS: nutritional status; picky eating; preschool