Prevalence and Factors associated with Malnutrition among Under-five Children

Abstract

Adequate nutrition is fundamental during infancy and early childhood for the development of each child’s full human potential. Malnutrition is one of the major health problems which affects physical as well as mental development of children. Many nutritional programs were undertaken by the government, but still we could not get rid of malnutrition completely. So, it is important to identify the risk factors associated with the occurrence of malnutrition other than organic problems. Hence, a research was undertaken to assess the prevalence and factors associated with malnutrition among under-five children attending a tertiary care hospital, South India. A total of 50 children who fulfilled the criteria were selected by convenient sampling technique. The subjects’ anthropometry was assessed, and data was collected from mothers related to the risk factors in areas such as nutrition, environmental sanitation and socio-economic details. The study revealed that the prevalence of underweight is 64%, stunting 58% and wasting is 20% and also malnutrition was associated with the factors such as mother’s Body Mass Index (BMI), educational status, monthly income of family, residence of rural area, breast feeding less than 6 months and bottle feeding.