A study of malnutrition and associated risk factors among children of age 06-59 months in rural area of Jabalpur district, Madhya Pradesh

Background: “Malnutrition is a silent emergency”. Malnutrition is not only an important cause of childhood mortality and morbidity, but also leads to permanent impairment of both physical and mental growth of those who survive. Aims & Objectives: To determine the prevalence of malnutrition and association with various risk factors among children of age 06-59 months in rural area of Jabalpur district Madhya Pradesh. Material and Methods: Study was conducted among 517 children of age group 06-59 months in two randomly selected blocks of Jabalpur District.  Multistage random sampling technique was used. Predesigned questionnaire was used to collect data and anthropometric measurements were done. Data analysis was done using Epi Info™ 7.1.5 and SPSS 20.0 (free trial version). Result: The prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting were found to be 35.8%, 41.4% and 19.7% respectively while the prevalence of obese and overweight was 2.7% & 5.6% respectively. Children born with low birth weight, having higher birth order, more number of siblings, those with incomplete immunization status and inappropriate feeding practices were associated with malnutrition. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates the multiple risk factors for childhood malnutrition requiring multisectoral approach to fight against this silent killer