Determinants of Childhood Malnutrition in Jamaica

Abstract

Height and weight were measured of 1 child 4 to 35 months old from 504 households in 3 parishes in Cornwall County, Jamaica. Information on the socioeconomic, demographic and biological circumstances of the households was obtained. More than half of the children were breast fed for 6 months or more. The children seemed to be worse off nutritionally than in a similar survey made 2 years earlier. Weight for age of the children decreased as the number of persons in a household increased. Food expenditure per capita was positively correlated with weight for age. There was no significant association between income and nutritional state. Boys were slightly better off nutritionally than were girls. Longer duration of breast feeding was positively associated with greater weight for age. Fever and diarrhoea were negatively correlated with weight for age.