Prevalence of Stunting and Wasting among Children Aged 6-24 Months in Mosul City

ABSTRACT Background: Growth of a child is frequently utilized as a nutritional status indicator. Inadequate or excessive nutritional intake, an imbalanced intake of essential nutrients, or poor nutrient utilization are characteristics of malnutrition, which include undernutrition (wasting, stunting, and underweight) and overnutrition (overweight, obesity), among other conditions (WHO, 2022). The aim of this research was to identify the rate of stunting and wasting among children aged [6–24 months] in Mosul city. Methods and materials: The current study used a cross-sectional (descriptive) study design and involved 616 samples of children who visited the vaccine units in centers for primary healthcare from period (15th November 2022 to 20th May 2023). Data was collected using (a questionnaire) designed by the researchers, and information related to the distribution of growth measurement for children includes (weight and length). [The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS)] was used for analyzing the data. Results": The study showed that the majority of the study sample (39.3%) were ages (6–11) months. The mean of age was 13.05 (±4.97) months. (52.9%) of the study sample were boys, while (47.1%) were girls. Also, the study showed that 8.6% of the study sample were wasted, 3.1% were severely wasted, 14.5% were stunted, and (3.1%) were severely stunted. Conclusions": The study revealed the early introduction of complementary feeding and giving unhealthy or inadequate foods were the main factors associated with stunting and wasting in the present study. In Mosul city, children aged 6 to 24 months have high prevalence rates of (stunting and wasting)