Prevalence of Malnutrition and Contributory Factor among Under Two Years Children in Central Bangladesh

Children undernutrition is one of the common problems in Bangladesh. The aim of this study was to observe the prevalence of malnutrition and its contributory factors among children under two years.

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted over 384 children in some selected rural areas in Bangladesh. The participants’ data were collected such as anthropometric, demographic, socioeconomic, and child feeding behavior using pre-tested structured questionnaires.

In age groups of 6-11, 12-17, and 18-23 months, 23.7, 42.1, and 45.1% of children were underweight; 31.6, 36.8, and 58.8% were stunted; and 21.1, 7.9, and 15.7% were wasted, respectively. A significant association was found between malnutrition of children with presence of disease, education of mother, and their monthly family income. Mothers with higher knowledge on fed colostrum (94%) initiated breastfeeding after the first hour of birth significantly (73%). Majority of the mothers (61.4%) started their weaning practice by cow milk and powder milk (17.3 %). The highest number of children suffered from malnutrition due to mother’s illiteracy and less monthly family income.

Awareness, multi stakeholder’s effort, and care practice should be conducted to reduce the malnutrition of under two years children in the study area.