Malnutrition is a global concern in developing countries. About one third of the world's malnourished children live in India.
To study the prevalence of malnutrition and its associations with socio demographic factors among under 5 children in rural areas.
A community based cross sectional study was conducted in district Fatehgarh Sahib. A census based technique was used with 573 under 5 children from nine villages of Fatehgarh Sahib District. Data was collected using structured questionnaire and anthropometric measurements.
573 children, ages 5 years and below, were enrolled for this study with 58.2% participants in upper middle and upper class, and 5.9% in lower and lower middle class. It was found that 14.14%, 15.71% and 18.85 % of the children were malnourished with respect to Weight for age (WHZ) and Height for age (HAZ) z-scores and disturbet body weight. Multivariate regression analyses of all indicators of malnutrition reflect parental education, socioeconomic status, an increase in number of children in household and children born in second or third order were some of the socio-demographic factors, which had an impact on the nutritional status of the under-five children. Significantly for stunting ( a marker of malnutrition of great concern), children from a lower caste had a 2.2 fold higher odds (OR 2.24), second or higher birth order was associated with 26% higher odds (OR 1.262), and children born to parents with lower literacy ( primary and below) had 52% and 33% higher odds for mother’s and father’s education respectively (OR 1.52 and 1.32).
The burden of under-nutrition among under-5 children has not changed significantly even after several intervention programs. Therefore, policy makers must focus on simultaneous socioeconomic development also. Additional qualitative research is needed on identifying and designing new programs or modifying existing programs with services which can be easily understood and afforded equitably by the intended beneficiaries