Risk factors for malnutrition among children 5-years and younger in the Akuapim-North District in the eastern region of Ghana

Alex Kojo Anderson; Whitney Bignell; Sophie Winful; Ireneous Soyiri; Matilda Steiner-Asiedu

Abstract

Malnutrition remains a significant public health problem in developing countries. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for malnutrition among preschool children in the Akwapim-North District in the Eastern Region of Ghana. This was a cross-sectional study. Mothers who brought their children to the ＂Well Baby Check-up＂ clinics were invited to participate. Anthropometric measurements (weight and height/length) and blood hemoglobin were measured. Mothers also completed a questionnaire consisting of closed and open-ended questions. A total of 305 pre-school-age children were included in this study. Of this sample, 43.3% were males, and 56.7% were females. The prevalence of wasting, stunting, and underweight was 6.2, 11.4 and 7.3%, respectively. The majority of the children (80.7%) were anemic. Children who were exclusively breastfed for 6 months showed slightly lower prevalence of both anemia (75.5% vs. 89.0%) and stunting (8% vs. 13%) but not wasting (8.3% vs. 4.3% ) or underweight (8.3% vs. 5.2%) compared to their mixed feeding counterparts. Children under 12 months of age showed a higher prevalence of wasting (9.4%) compared to other age groups. Children from homes with electricity showed lower prevalence of stunting (9.7% vs. 17.6%, p = 0.050), and children from households with a radio showed lower prevalence of wasting (5.3% vs. 19.0%, p = 0.033). Nutrition education encouraging exclusive breastfeeding and adequate provision of animal protein to preschool children is important in semi-rural and farming communities in developing countries such as Ghana in order to combat the prevalence of childhood malnutrition (stunting, wasting, underweight and anemia).

Citation

Alex Kojo Anderson, Whitney Bignell, Sophie Winful, Ireneous Soyiri, & Matilda Steiner-Asiedu. (2010). Risk factors for malnutrition among children 5-years and younger in the Akuapim-North District in the eastern region of Ghana. Current research journal of biological sciences, 2(3), 183-188

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 3, 2010
• Publication Date: May 20, 2010
• Deposit Date: May 16, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: May 21, 2019
• Journal: Current Research Journal of Biological Sciences
• Print ISSN: 2041-076x
• Electronic ISSN: 2041-0778
• Publisher: Maxwell Scientific Publishing Corp.
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 2
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 183-188
• Keywords: Ghana; Malnutrition; Preschool children; Stunting; Wasting
• Public URL: http://www.AiritiLibrary.com/Publication/Index/20410778-201005-201512220011-201512220011-183-188
• Publisher URL: http://maxwellsci.com/print/crjbs/v2-183-188.pdf
• Additional Information: Creative Commons Licence: Attribution License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/