The prevalence of malnutrition in children under 6 in Southern Iran from 2018 to 2023: a population-based study...

Malnutrition, wasting, and obesity among children under 6 years old pose a serious global health concern, increasing the risk of various infectious and non-infectious diseases. Therefore, regular monitoring of these conditions is crucial. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition in children under 6 years of age from 2018 to 2023.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on children under 6 years old who were referred to the urban and rural health centres in south Iran for routine health care. The researchers extracted the data from the health electronic records (SIB system) from 2018 to 2023.

This study showed the average prevalence of overweight and obesity is 20%, underweight and severe underweight is 4.9%, wasting and severe wasting is 7.4%, and stunted and severe shortness is 3.8%, 2018-2023. The average annual percentage change of severe wasting was 8.9% (95% CI 0.1% to 18.6%), underweight and severely underweight 5.7% (1.4-10.3) during the study years. The decreasing trend of stunted, particularly severe stunted, - 1.1% (- 0.7-5.2), the probability of overweight - 1.6% (95% CI - 4.7-1.5), and obesity - 1.1% (95% CI - 7-5.2) was seen.

This study revealed a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity than previously reported, although the annual percentage change remained relatively stable. In contrast, a significant increase in underweight and wasting was observed over the past 5 years. Consequently, healthcare managers and policymakers should prioritize interventions to address these trends.