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Study decoded · nutrition · Emerging
Gaza Clinic Study Finds Most Young Children Anemic And Malnourished
63.6% had anemia20.8% wasted20.1% underweight12.5% stunted200 children studied
A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that 63.6% of young children tested at a Gaza City clinic were anemic, with 20.8% wasted and 20.1% underweight. The research, conducted between late August and October 2025, tracked nutritional status among children aged 6 to 24 months during the ongoing conflict.
Researchers approached 276 mother-child pairs at Al-Daraj Martyrs Health Centre, one of the remaining functioning primary health centers in Gaza City, between late August and October 2025. Of those, 250 completed the questionnaire, and 200 children had full measurements for height, weight and growth status; a separate 55 children had blood tested for anemia. Stunting, meaning low height for age, affected 12.5% of children. Underweight affected 20.1%, and wasting, meaning low weight for height, affected 20.8%. Among the 55 tested, 63.6% were anemic. Underweight was linked to household food shortage and to a previous history of malnutrition treatment. Wasting was linked to the child's age group. Anemia was linked to paternal unemployment. Mothers' nutrition knowledge and reported feeding practices moved together, but neither was independently linked to stunting or underweight once other factors were accounted for. At the clinic, 71.0% of mothers reported receiving nutrition advice from a nurse, and 52.5% reported having their child's growth chart reviewed.
Children aged 6 to 24 months depend on breastfeeding, complementary foods and functioning clinic services to track growth and catch problems early; when food access and health services break down, deficits in weight, height and blood iron show up quickly in this age group. The authors concluded that the malnutrition pattern in their sample was shaped more by structural deprivation, meaning disrupted food supply and clinic services, and weakened primary health center support than by gaps in maternal knowledge alone.
Malnutrition Rates Among 200 Gaza Children Aged 6-24 Months
Data Panel
- Who
- 276 mother-child pairs approached at one Gaza City clinic; 250 completed the survey; 200 children aged 6-24 months had full anthropometric data; 55 had blood tested for anemia
- Design
- Cross-sectional, clinic-based, convenience-sampled observational study
- Dose
- Not applicable (observational study, no intervention)
- Primary result
- Stunting 12.5%, underweight 20.1%, wasting 20.8% among 200 children; anemia 63.6% among the 55 tested
- Secondary
- Underweight linked to household food shortage and prior malnutrition treatment; wasting linked to child age group; anemia linked to paternal unemployment; 71.0% of mothers reported nurse nutrition advice, 52.5% reported growth-chart review
- Funding / conflicts
- Funding and conflicts not reported in the abstract
This is a cross-sectional snapshot from one clinic using convenience sampling, so families who could reach a functioning health center may differ from those who could not, and the findings show that these deficits were linked together, not that one caused another. Anemia results came from a smaller subgroup of 55 children rather than the full 200, and funding and conflicts were not reported in the abstract.
Dr. Axe's Take
These numbers describe a population under siege conditions, and they track with what happens physiologically when food and water access collapses for infants and toddlers. A body that age needs consistent protein, iron and calories to build blood and muscle; when household food runs short, wasting and anemia show up within weeks. I would not read this as a parenting or knowledge failure, in Gaza or anywhere families face food insecurity. What I would act on: prioritize iron-rich foods like grass-fed beef, liver and dark leafy greens for toddlers at risk, and keep tracking growth regularly rather than waiting for a visible problem. Restoring clinic access matters as much as the food itself.
— Dr. Axe