Nutritional assessment and factors influencing nutritional status of under 5 years of children of dalit community of khatyad rural municipality, Mugu

Abstract

Background: Nutritional status is a primary public health concern in the global scenario mainly in low-income countries. Malnutrition consists of under nutrition, overweight, obesity, and micro-nutrient deficiencies among children or lactate mothers mainly in developing countries like Nepal. Evidence suggests that multiple micro-nutrient supplementation reduces the risk of stillbirths and low-birth weight. In Nepal Karnali province Dalit community are most deprived ethnic groups due to underline poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, and lack of health services. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 199 children and mothers of Khatyad Rural Municipality using the survey questionnaire, and anthropometric measurement. Results: . Overall, there were 25.1%, 15.1%, 24.6%, and 9.5% cases of (severe) stunting, wasting, underweight, and malnutrition, respectively. The mean number the children of the family was 2.43, the number of children below 5 years of age was found 1.29. Similarly, the majority of mother give birth before 20 years (89.4 %) as compared to after 20 years (19.1 Almost every child had colostrum feed, Ante-natal check visit and 83.4 % had post-natal check visit too. Among the respondents 87.9 % of mothers delivered their child at a health facility. Almost all the households (92 %) had a toilet facility.According to MUAC, 11.1 % of the sample children were moderately malnourished and 9.5 % of them were severely malnourished. Conclusion: Dalit community children of Khatyad Rural Municipality were found with low nutritional status and it is being directly affected by maternal education level, socio-economic status of family, types of family, access to health service, and occupation. Key Words: Nutritional status, factors influencing, Dalit community, Khatyad rural municipality.