Nutritional status of children in rural Telangana in relation to complementary feeding practices

Abstract

Good nutrition is the most important aspect of human well-being. Before birth and throughout infancy good nutrition allows brain functioning to evolve without impairment and the immune system to develop more robustly. 1 Adequate provision of nutrients, beginning in early stages of life, is crucial to ensure good physical and mental development and long term health. 2 Evidence from 54 low and middle income countries indicates that growth faltering on average begins during pregnancy and continues to about 24 months of age. The loss in linear growth is not recovered and catch-up growth later on in childhood is minimal. 3 While the UNICEF conceptual frame work reflected a focus on children of preschool age, there is now more emphasis on policies and programmes that support action before the age of 2 years, especially on maternal nutrition and health and appropriate infant and young child feeding (IYCF) and care practices. 3 Improvements in nutrition after age 2 do not usually lead to recovery of lost potential. A consequence that is also emerging more clearly is the impact of stunting and subsequent disproportionate and rapid weight gain later in life. These long term effects are referred to as the fetal programming concept. This rapid weight gain later in life raises the rate of coronary heart disease, stroke and type II diabetes. 3 Breast milk alone is sufficient to meet the nutritional requirement up to 6 months of age. After 6 months of age ABSTRACT Background: Breast milk alone is not enough to meet the nutritional needs of the infant after 6 months of age and optimal complementary feeds should be added to the diet at this time while continuing the breast feeds. This transition from exclusive breastfeeding to family feeds i.e., complementary feeding covers the period from 6 to 18-23 months of age and is vulnerable for malnutrition to develop. Therefore this study aimed to identify the nutritional status of infants and young children (6 to 23 months) in relation to currently existing complementary feeding practices in rural Telangana. Methods: It is a cross-sectional observational hospital based study carried out in Pediatric Department, Kamineni Institute of Medical College, Narketpally, Nalgonda district, Telangana from September 2015 to December 2015. Mothers who have children were included and anthropometry of children was taken and analysed. Results: 44.6% were under weight, 37.7% were stunted, 20.78% were wasted in the current study. Under nutrition reached to the peak levels at 18-23 months of age. Low socioeconomic status, mother's education, birth spacing of <2 years, prolonged exclusive breast feeding and less than recommended frequency of complementary feeds were risk factors for various forms of malnutrition. Conclusions: Poor IYCF practices are associated with poor nutritional outcomes. The state of IYCF practices across India should improve to achieve the goals of global targets for 2025.