Open AccessDeterminants of malnutrition of under-five children among rural households in the southwest, Nigeria
Author(s) -
A. G. Adeyonu,
Adekemi A. Obisesan,
Olubunmi Lawrence Balogun
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
food research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.218
H-Index - 7
ISSN - 2550-2166
DOI - 10.26656/fr.2017.6(1).729
Subject(s) - malnutrition , developing country , agriculture , psychological intervention , environmental health , medicine , socioeconomics , descriptive statistics , child mortality , malnutrition in children , rural area , under five , geography , pediatrics , demography , population , economic growth , economics , nursing , mathematics , statistics , archaeology , pathology , sociology
Malnutrition has been attributed to many deaths among under-five children in most of thedeveloping countries including Nigeria. Understanding the determinants of malnutritioncan provide insights in designing interventions for reducing the high rates of childmalnutrition. This study focused on what determines the malnutrition of under-fivechildren among rural households in the southwest, Nigeria. A multistage samplingtechnique was employed to select 395 households that had 487 under-five children. Datawere collected on child’s, mother’s, household’s and community characteristics using apre-tested structured questionnaire. Information on the child’s nutrition status wasobtained using Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) tape. The data were analyzedusing descriptive statistics and logit model with STATA 14 statistical package. The resultsrevealed that the average age of under-five children was about 25 months and over 50% ofthem are girls with a malnutrition rate of 44.0%. The child’s sex, the child’s birth interval,cultivated farm size, mother’s education, water source, and distance to nearest healthcenter significantly determined the child’s malnutrition in rural areas of southwestNigeria. Given the findings of this research, it is suggested that; mothers should beadvised to use contraceptives for child spacing; farmers should be enlightened on the needto implement modern farming practices that lead to optimum yield per land cultivatedrather than increasing the size of cultivated farmland; there should be an improvement onwomen’s education as well as a potable water source; and health care facilities close torespondents’ residence should be provided.