NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF CHILDREN UNDER FIVE YEARS AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS IN MBEERE SOUTH DISTRICT, KENYA

Information on nutritional status of children under five years is an indicator of the nutritional situation in society. Identification of core factors influencing nutrition of this population supports plans to alleviate child malnutrition and its consequences. This study sought to determine the nutritional status of children under five years and associated factors in Mbeere South District in Kenya. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using a structured questionnaire. A total of 144 households was randomly sampled and the nutritional status of one child from each household assessed using anthropometric measurements. Up to 39% of the children were stunted; 7.1% were wasted; and 18.1% underweight. The prevalence of stunting and wasting was significantly higher in boys than in girls (\u3a7 =6.765, P =.034) and (\u3a7= 13.053, P = .036), respectively. The individual dietary diversity score showed that the most consumed food group was cereals. Eggs and meat were the least consumed foods. Low diversity scores were recorded for 41.9% of the children (<4 food groups), 35.7% had medium scores (4-5 food groups); while 22.5% had high scores (6- 8 food groups). There was significant association between household size and nutritional status (P =0.047). The findings indicate that malnutrition and dietary diversity are major challenges to good nutrition. Future interventions should focus on improving food access and availability for enhanced diet diversification for the rising population.L\u2019information sur le status nutritionnel des enfants de moins de cinq ans est un indicateur de la situation nutritionnelle dans une soci\ue9t\ue9. L\u2019identification des facteurs cl\ue9s influen\ue7ant la nutrition de cette population soutient les plans d\u2019\ue9radication de la malnutrition infantile et ses cons\ue9quences. Cette \ue9tude \ue9tait men\ue9e pour d\ue9terminer le statut nutritionnel des enfants de moins de cinq ans et les facteurs associ\ue9s dans le district de Mbeere Sud au Kenya. Une \ue9tude transversale \ue9tait conduite avec un questionnaire structur\ue9. Un total de 144 m\ue9nages \ue9taient al\ue9atoirement \ue9chantillonn\ue9s et le statut nutritionnel d\u2019un enfant dans chaque m\ue9nage \ue9valu\ue9 par l\u2019utilisation des mesures anthropom\ue9triques.Trente neuf pourcent des enfants \ue9taient victimes du nanisme; 7.1% \ue9taient maigres , et 18.1% avaient un poids inf\ue9rieur \ue0 la normale . La pr\ue9valence du nanisme et de la maigreur \ue9tait significativement \ue9lev\ue9e chez les gar\ue7ons que chez les filles (c =6.765, P =.034) et (c = 13.053, P = .036), respectivement. Le score de la diversit\ue9 di\ue9t\ue9tique individuelle a montr\ue9 que la plupart consommait la nourriture du groupe des c\ue9r\ue9ales. Des scores bas de diversit\ue9 \ue9taient enregistr\ue9s chez 41.9% d\u2019enfants (<4 groupes d\u2018aliments), 35.7% avaient des scores moyens (< 4-5 groupes d\u2019aliments); pendant que 22.5% avaient des scores \ue9lev\ue9s (< 6- 8 groupes d\u2019aliments). Il y avait une association significative entre la taille des m\ue9nages et le statut nutritionnel (P =0.047). Ces r\ue9sultats indiquent que la malnutrition et la diversit\ue9 di\ue9t\ue9tique constituent des contraintes majeurs \ue0 une bonne nutrition. Des interventions futures devraient \ueatre centr\ue9e sur l\u2019am\ue9lioration de l\u2019acc\ue8s et la disponibilit\ue9 de la nourriture pour une meilleure diversification di\ue9t\ue9tique face \ue0 la population croissante