Assessment of the nutritional status of children according to maternal reports: Are mothers’ perceptions of their children's appetite accurate?

This study determined whether there is a difference in the nutritional status of children with good and poor appetites, as reported by their mothers. In all, 70 volunteer mothers of children aged 6–60 months participated in the study. Information about the nutrition of the child was obtained from the mothers via a questionnaire. Based on the mothers’ statements, no significant difference was found in the mean or median values of the anthropometric measurements between children with good and poor appetites (p>.05), and no significant difference was observed between daily consumed energy and macro- and micronutrients (p>.05). While the blood zinc levels of children with a good appetite were higher than those with a poor appetite (p.05). In this study, no significant difference was evident between children defined as having good or poor appetite by their mothers, especially in terms of energy and nutrients.