Malnutrition Status Among Under-5 Children in a Hill Community of Nepal
K Gaurav1, I S Poudel1, S Bhattarai1
1School of Public Health and Community Medicine B. P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal.
Insights
Malnutrition affects many children under five in Nepal
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Public Health
- Child Development
Background:
- Malnutrition, particularly undernutrition, significantly increases morbidity and mortality in children.
- It impedes child growth, development, and survival, posing a major public health challenge in Nepal's rural areas, especially among children under five.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence and identify contributing factors of malnutrition.
- Focusing on under-five children in the Ilam district's hill communities in eastern Nepal.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 240 children under five in rural Ilam.
- Utilized WHO-standard anthropometric measurements for underweight, stunting, and wasting.
- Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests analyzed social and predisposing factors.
Main Results:
- 17% were moderately and 10.4% severely underweight; 22.9% moderately and 17.5% severely stunted.
- Less than 10% were moderately or severely wasted.
- Maternal education and exclusive breastfeeding significantly impacted stunting (p <0.05); over 50% experienced multiple forms of malnutrition.
Conclusions:
- A substantial proportion of under-five children in hilly regions suffer from malnutrition.
- Maternal literacy and exclusive breastfeeding are crucial for preventing childhood malnutrition.
Background:
Malnutrition, especially under nutrition puts children at increased risk of morbidity and mortality and remains a serious barrier in child growth, development and survival. This is a major public health problem among under- 5 children in Nepal particularly in rural areas.
Objective:
To assess the burden and contributing factors for malnutrition in hill community of Ilam district in eastern Nepal.
Method:
A cross sectional study was conducted in rural hill communities of Ilam district, Nepal with a sample of 240 under- 5 children. Anthropometric measurements were used as per WHO guidelines to asses three nutritional status: Underweight, Stunting, and Wasting using descriptive statistics and chi square test was applied using SPSS 12.0 to assess social and predisposing factors.
Result:
Seventeen percent of under- 5 children were moderately and 10.4 % were severely underweight. Similarly, 22.9%, and 17.5% were found to be moderately and severely stunted respectively. Less than 10% were found to be moderately and severely wasted. Older age group of children, education level of mother, not exclusive breast feeding practice had significant (p <0.05) effect on stunting. More than 50% children were affected with stunting, underweight and wasting at the same time.
Conclusion:
Significant proportion of under - 5 children were malnourished in the communities of the hilly areas. The study unveiled the importance of literacy and exclusive breast feeding for the prevention of malnutrition in under- 5 children.
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