Open AccessAN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF MALNUTRITION AMONG UNDER FIVE CHILDREN LIVING IN PREDOMINANTLY TRIBAL BLOCK OF JHADOL IN DISTRICT UDAIPUR, RAJASTHAN
Author(s) -
Ganesh Salvi Mr.,
Maitri Hathi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of scientific research
Language(s) - English
DOI - 10.36106/ijsr/9334412
Subject(s) - malnutrition , medicine , pediatrics , epidemiology , low birth weight , environmental health , demography , pregnancy , biology , pathology , sociology , genetics
To determine the prevalence and risk factors of under-nutrition amongst under-five children living in Jhadol Block of Udaipur, a cross-sectional survey of 350 randomly selected under-five children was carried out. The selected samples were taken out of the total 48426 children living in Jhadol Block. The findings reveal that 41.1% of the children were found to be stunted, 26% of them wasted and 20.3% of them were under-weight. Female children, children aged 48-59 months, children born to older mothers aged 20-29years, children with 1-2 siblings, low-birth-weight, having an illiterate mother or unskilled labourer father were observed to be at the highest risk of being under-nourished. Birth spacing of <2 years, incomplete vaccination status, frequent infections and worm infestation were also found to be important predisposing factors for childhood malnutrition. The study demonstrates the multiple risk factors for childhood malnutrition, requiring a multi-pronged and multi-sectorial approach in the fight against the silent killer of childhood malnutrition.