Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital has cautioned parents to be vigilant about their young children’s diet after doctors there operated on a five-year-old girl who was suffering from a condition called bezoar or pseudobezoar, which was the result of months of her chewing and eating bubble gum that formed into a large lump that put her life in danger by obstructing her stomach and intestines.

A bezoar is a ball of swallowed foreign material that accumulates gradually in a person’s stomach or intestines. It is typically made up of hair or fibre, but in this case chewing gum was believed to be the culprit.

The Facebook page for the late Dr Beat Richner, the founder of Kantha Bopha, posted a message on April 18 relating how the doctors found the lump of gum using an X-ray scan and removed it in two gastrointestinal surgeries.

They added that the situation came about because the girl’s family owns a grocery store and she was chewing and eating the gum frequently without anyone realising it.

“Some children would eat indigestible items as ‘food’ every day, forming a lump in their stomach or intestines called a bezoar lump. This five-year-old girl was taking gum from her mother’s store each day and eating it. The bubble gum she was swallowing piece-by-piece over months had formed a lump almost as big as her stomach, causing stomach and intestinal obstruction,” it explained.

The hospital advised parents to be attentive to what their young children are eating as they may try to eat things that are not food or can be difficult for them to digest.

Chocolate, candy and bubble gum are now all classified as banned foods at educational institutions in Cambodia and are among the most unhealthy things for children to eat, according to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport.

Kantha Bopha said that swallowing a piece of chewing gum occasionally would not cause anyone medical problems as it will eventually break down or pass through the intestines, but in this case the girl must have been eating it regularly in relatively large amounts and her age and small size were also a factor in causing the issue.

According to the hospital’s April 5 report, in March it examined and treated 65,336 children, 11,438 of them were inpatients. Of the total, 81 children had dengue fever and 1,852 underwent surgery.

“The hospital’s maternity ward examined and treated 7,844 pregnant women and delivered 1,874 babies,” it said.

Chea Mary, director of the Ministry of Health’s National Nutrition Programme, advises parents and guardians of young children to observe that most of children are eating improper food such as gum.

“Most children eat candy, almost all of them, and it is often even their mothers who buy it for their children,” she said, adding that eating foods that are high in sugar and low in nutrients can lead to health conditions such as childhood obesity and diabetes.

A study conducted in late 2022 by Helen Keller International (Cambodia) outlined the widespread nature of the problem of children eating unhealthy foods from a young age.

“Young children in Kandal province generally consume unhealthy foods and beverages, with an increase of 45.5 per cent among children aged 10-14 months to 79 per cent in children aged 15-19 months.

“It is mostly sweetened condensed milk and foods like cookies or cake. Half of all children aged 15-19 months are consuming sweetened condensed milk and over one-third of children at this age group eat other junk food,” the study said.

The study – conducted in rural and semi-urban areas of Kandal province – said food that children ate were divided into eight groups based on indicators to assess infant and young child feeding (IYCF) of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Three types of foods and beverages, including breast milk substitutes, dietary supplements and unhealthy or junk foods, were studied.

The study also advised parents and guardians to avoid giving sweet foods and beverages and unhealthy foods to children between 6-23 months of ages, as they are harmful to their health. It is advised that children in this age group try to eat more vegetables and fruits.