Prevalence of Underweight and its Risk Factors among Under Five Children in a Rural Area of Kancheepuram District in Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Background: India is contributing to around 20% of world total under five children deaths. Major cause of under five children deaths is malnutrition and multiple factors are involved in determining the nutritional status of the children. Therefore the objective of the study is to measure the prevalence of underweight and to study the selected factors associated with underweight among children under five years of age residing in a rural area. Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted. We have interviewed 563 parents/guardians of under five children using a structured questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic factors, natal history, feeding practices etc. The weight (in kg) was measured using Bathroom weighing scale (> 1 year of age) and infant weighing scale and grading was done as per Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) classification.Results: The prevalence of underweight among under five children was 52.9%. Around 7% of children were severely malnourished. The prevalence of underweight among children under the age of one year was 62.4%. Females (62.6%) were more malnourished than males (44.0%). Children belonging to higher socioeconomic status (40.0%) were less malnourished than lower socioeconomic status (47.2%). Conclusion: The burden of underweight was very high and some important risk factors for underweight were age, females and lower socioeconomic status. Therefore, any interventions to prevent and solve the problem of undernutrition should focus on these high risk groups.