Prevalence of undernutrition and its determinants among preschool children in a rural community of Shimoga, Karnataka
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20183610Keywords:
Birth weight, Preschool child, Gender identity, Malnutrition, Social classAbstract
Background: Undernutrition is a major health and nutrition problem in India especially among preschool children. It is an important cause of childhood mortality and morbidity and also leads to permanent impairment of physical and mental growth of those who survive. The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of undernutrition among preschool children in the study setting and to determine various factors associated with undernutrition of the child.
Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 400 preschool children in the field practice area of PHC Aaynoor, Shivamogga, Karnataka. Cluster sampling technique was used for sample selection. Data was collected by interviewing the parent /guardian using a pretested and semistructured questionnaire and anthropometric measurements were done as per standard techniques. Statistical analysis was done using WHO Epi-info software version 3.5.4.
Results: The prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting was observed in 38%, 43% and 15.8% of children respectively. The study found significant association between the prevalence of undernutrition and gender, birth weight, birth order, number of siblings, caste, paternal literacy and availability of toilet in the house of the child.
Conclusions: The present study revealed that the problem of undernutrition is critical in the study area and identifies multiple risk factors for its causation, thereby signifying a well - coordinated multi sectorial approach to curb the same.
References
De Onis M, Brown D, Blössner M, Borghi E. Levels and Trends in Child Malnutrition. UNICEF -WHO- The World Bank Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates. 2012: 9-10.
Vinod N, Swarnakanta L, Smita P, Pushpa D. Nutritional status and dietary pattern of under five children in urban slum area. National J Comm Med. 2011;2(1):143-8.
Park K. Park’s Text book of Preventive and Social Medicine. 23rd ed. Jabalpur: M/s Banarasidas Bhanot Publishers; 2015: 549.
International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and Macro International. 2007. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005–06: India: Volume I. Mumbai: IIPS.
Anwar F, Gupta MK, Prabha C, Srivastava RK. Malnutrition among rural Indian children: An assessment using web of indices. Int J Public Health Epidemiol. 2013;2(4):78-84.
United Nations Children’s Fund, World Health Organization, The World Bank. UNICEF WHO- World Bank joint child malnutrition estimates. UNICEF, New York; WHO, Geneva; The World Bank, Washington, DC; 2012;9-10.
UNICEF. Improving child nutrition The achievable imperative for global progress. UNICEF. 2013: 117.
Kishore J. National Health programs of India National policies and legislations related to health. 10th ed. New Delhi: Century publications; 2012: 439.
World Health organization, Department of Nutrition for Health and Development. WHO child growth standards: Training course on Child growth assessment. World health organization 2008.Module – C:22.
International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and Macro International. 2007. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005–06: India: Volume I. Mumbai: IIPS.
Mittal A, Singh J, Ahluwalia SK. Effect of maternal factors on nutritional status of 1-5 year old children in urban slum population. Indian J Community Med. 2007;32(4):264-7.
Santoshkumar A, Sunilkumar D, Ashok NC, Koppad R. Protein energy malnutrition and its association with immunization status and common morbidities among 1-5 year aged children in southern part of India, Mysore. Int J Cur Res Rev. 2013;5(2):105-10.
Renuka M, Rakesh A, Babu NM, Santosh KA. Nutritional status of Jenukuruba pre-school children in Mysore district, Karnataka. IJRRMS. 2011;1(1):12-7.
Joshi HS, Joshi MC, Singh A, Joshi P, Khan NI. Determinants of protein energy malnutrition (PEM) in 0-6 years children in rural community of Bareilly. Indian J Prev Soc Med. 2011;42(2):154-8.
Bisai S, Mallick C. Prevalence of undernutrition among Kora-mudi children aged 2-13 years in Paschim Medinipur district, West Bengal, India. World J Pediatr. 2011;7(1):31-6.
Sengupta P, Philip N, Benjamin AI. Epidemiological correlates of undernutrition in under 5 years children in an urban slum of Ludhiana. HPPI. 2010;33(1):1-9.
Mitra SP. A study of dietary intake and nutritional status of under five children in slums of Kolkata city. Indian J Community Med. 2007;1(1):92.
Dey I, Chaudhuri RN. Gender inequality in nutritional status among under five children in a village in Hooghly district, West Bengal. Indian J Public Health. 2008;52(4):218-20.
HUNGaMa fighting hunger and malnutrition the HUNGaMa survey report 2011. Naandi foundation; 2011;28. Available at: www.hungamaforchange.org. Accessed on September 14th 2013.
Mathad V, Metgud C, Mallapur MD. Nutritional status of under-fives in rural area of south India. Indian J Med Sci. 2011;65(4):151-6.