Malnutrition and associated factors among rural children between 1 to 3 years of age residing in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

In the world, malnutrition is a leading communal health problem at the childhood stage. It is a dramatic indicator of poor socio-economic status. Developing countries are highly affected by malnutrition. The purpose of the present study is to assess the incidence of malnutrition amongst the children belonging to rural areas of the Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, aged 1-3 years, and its association with socio-demographic factors. About 800 children were involved in the present cross-sectional investigation, using multi-stage sampling. The socio-demographic shreds of evidence were collected using a self and well-structured questionnaire. Children were screened using anthropometric measurements. The WHO Anthro Plus 1.0.4 software was used to convert the weight, height, and age (months) of children into height-for-age (stunted), weight-for-age (underweight), and weight-for-height (wasted). The statistical significance was declared at a p-value <0.05 with 95% confidence intervals in the final model. The overall prevalence of malnutrition was 39.7; 14%, 21%, and 4.7% being the prevalence of underweight, stunted, and wasted children, respectively. No significant association was found between gender and anthropometric indices (underweight, stunted, and wasted) of children. Malnutrition was high among rural children aged 1-3 years in Saharanpur. The factor affecting underweight was age, while the educational status and occupation of mothers, fathers’ occupation, children’s age, and caste were the factors affecting stunting. Factors affecting wasting were the educational status and occupation of mothers, fathers’ educational status and occupation, and caste.