Regional Variation in the Prevalence of Undernutrition and its Correlates Among Under Five-Year Children in North India

Abstract

Background: Undernutrition is an important public health problem affecting one-third of under five-year-old children in India. Objectives: To assess the nutritional status of under five-year-old children along with child feeding practices. Materials and Methods: We adopted a systematic sampling procedure to carry out this community-based, cross-sectional study in all the districts of Haryana. Data was collected on socioeconomic and demographic particulars along with anthropometric measurements. Analysis was done using SPSS Windows 23. Results: The overall prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting was 34%, 27.5%, and 11%, while that of severe undernutrition was 11%, 8%, and 3%, respectively. The odds of underweight were significantly higher among children of the Muslim religion, children of scheduled caste, children of illiterate mothers, lower per capita income, HHs without electricity, landless HHs, low birth weight, no ANC care, and those early ages at complementary feeding. Stunting was significantly higher among children whose mothers were illiterate, children whose fathers were laborers, among landless HHs, with no separate kitchen and lower birth weight, while wasting was higher among children of Muslim religion, children of scheduled caste, with no sanitary latrine facility, low-birth-weight children and early initiation of complementary feeding. Conclusions: Undernutrition is observed to be associated with religion, community, education of mother, per capita income, land holding status, birth weight, and age at complementary feeding. Thus, improving maternal nutrition can improve birth weight, improving maternal knowledge about child feeding, and the household’s socio-economic status may improve the nutritional status of children.