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African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development
Rural Outreach Program
ISSN: 1684-5358 EISSN: 1684-5358
Vol. 17, No. 4, 2017, pp. 12854-12870
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Bioline Code: nd17099
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge
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African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, Vol. 17, No. 4, 2017, pp. 12854-12870
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RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH STUNTING AMONG INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN AGED 6 - 23 MONTHS IN DEDZA DISTRICT OF CENTRAL MALAWI
Geresomo, NC; Mbuthia, EK; Matofari, JW & Mwangwela, AM
Abstract
The prevalence of stunting is high in Malawi, affecting about one third (31.2%) of
children aged 6-23 months. Persistent inappropriate feeding practices are some of the
major causes of stunting in young children. This study was conducted to determine risk
factors associated with stunting among infants and young children aged 6-23 months in
Dedza district in Central Malawi. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 12 villages
in Mayani Extension Planning Area (EPA), targeting households with children aged 6-
23 months. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the primary
caregivers on household socioeconomic characteristics, household food availability,
dietary diversity, responsive feeding practices among mothers and caregivers, age of
introduction of complementary foods, frequency of feeding, types of foods and dietary
diversity of children. Anthropometric data (weight and recumbent length) for children
were measured using standard procedures. The Multivariate Logistic Regression
Analysis was performed to study the independent associations of various determinants
on prevalence of stunting with prevalence of stunting as a dependent variable. A total of
303 households were sampled randomly; mothers and caregivers were interviewed and
306 children were assessed for nutritional status. Introduction of complementary food
varied among mothers, 9.3% introduced earlier than 6 months, 71.1% at 6 months and
10.2% later than 6 months. Dietary diversity was low but increased significantly with
age categories of children, 2.9% for children 6-8 months, 15.5% for 9-11 months and
24.6% for 12-23 months (p<0.01). Minimum meal frequency was significantly (p<0.001)
higher in children 6-8 months (58.7%) than in children 12-23 months (1.9%). Overall,
out of the 306 children 47.1% [95% CI (41.6-53.1)] were stunted. Stunting was
significantly different between male [54.5%; 95% CI (47.0-63.5)] and female (39.5%;
95% CI (31.4-47.6)] children. Age of child when complementary feeding was started
[AOR: 0.138; 95% CI (0.22-0.88)], number of young children in the household [AOR:
2.548; 95% CI (1.304-4.981)] and teenage mothers [AOR: 1.265; 95% CI (0.379-1.724)]
were significant independent predictors of stunting. It can be concluded that prevalence
of stunting is high among infants and young children in Dedza district. Training mothers
and caregivers on recommended age of introducing complementary food to a child,
composition of such food, dangers of teenage pregnancies and importance of child
spacing should form part of nutrition education.
Keywords
Nutritional status; dietary diversity; complementary feeding; meal frequency; responsive feeding
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