Prevalence and Predictors of Underweight, Stunting, and Wasting among Children Aged 5 and Under in Western Kenya

Abstract

The health and nutritional status of children aged 5 and under was assessed in three villages in Siaya District of western Kenya. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 121 adults and 175 children during July 2002. Primary caretakers were interviewed during home visits to assess agricultural and sanitation resources, child feeding practices, and the nutritional status of their children aged 5 years and under. Through anthropometry, the prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting were determined: 30 per cent were underweight, 47 per cent were stunted, and 7 per cent were wasted. Predictors of undernutrition were analysed using logistic regression controlling for age, sex, and SES, and four major findings emerged. First, children in their second year of life were more likely to be underweight and stunted. Second, children who were introduced to foods early had an increased risk of being underweight. Third, up-to-date vaccinations were protective against stunting, while reports of having upper respiratory infections or other illness in the past month predicted underweight. Finally, living with non-biological parents significantly increased risk of stunting. Emphasis should be placed on current immunization, prolonging exclusive breastfeeding, and improving access to nutrient-rich foods among adopted children and their families via community-based nutrition interventions.

Determinants of exclusive breastfeeding practices in Ethiopia

“…Nonetheless, when compared with previously reported figures for most developing countries like Tanzania (15), Uganda (19), Kenya (20), Brazil (21), and earlier report in Ethiopia (12, 22) the observed figure was similar. Interestingly, full breastfeeding in the country was noted to be a common practice and in conformity with earlier reported research work in Ghana, India and Peru (23).…”

“…Like in many other developing countries, the practice of mother giving water or tea to their children in addition to the breast milk was common (20,24). Most of the mothers provided their children water because they thought that the milk was insufficient: breast milk seen primarily as food and water is required to satisfy the needs of the child which was probably due to misconception of mothers (24)(25)(26)(27).…”

WHO 2006 child growth standards: implications for the prevalence of stunting and underweight-for-age in a birth cohort of Gabonese children in comparison to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2000 growth charts and the National Center for Health Statistics 1978 growth references

“…Reported prevalence of stunting and underweight-for-age in our sample of Gabonese infants and toddlers may therefore reflect the deviation from recommended feeding patterns (22) , i.e. early introduction of solid food, a common finding throughout most Central and West African countries (23)(24)(25) , and further unfavourable growth conditions. For the new WHO 2006 standards data from six different countries and from different ethnicities were pooled based on the assumption that child growth seems to depend much more on living conditions than on ethnicity (26) .…”

Risk factors for stunting among under-fives in Libya

“…These factors determine the ability of the family to combine their knowledge, resources and patterns of behaviour, to promote, recover or maintain health status and to cope with a difficult environment (4,11,12) . Such factors include parental education, psychosocial stimulation and household environment (4,12,(22)(23)(24) .…”

“…However, the fact that storing water in tanks protects against infections in comparison to publicly supplied piped water calls for better quality control of this system. Diarrhoea is a known risk factor for stunting (11,23,30) . The current survey was conducted during the summer.…”