Assessment of Nutritional Status of under-five year rural children in ...

status of infants and young children is not only a vital health issue, but it is alsocentral to sustainable growth and development of the child 22 .In the present study, theprevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting was 43%, 40% and 27%respectively. It was observed that the nutritional status of children deteriorated asage advances especially from six months onwards. Undernutrition in all its threeforms continues to be a significant problem in the district of Damoh, even though thecurrent prevalence in the district is considerably lower than that reported for theState of Madhya Pradesh by NFHS-3 (2007) and NNMB (2006). Probably, factorssuch as, the energy and nutrient density of the complementary foods given, thefrequency and variety of foods offered, hygiene aspects of food preparation,personal hygiene, the amount of breast milk consumed at different stages ofcomplementary feeding, the frequency of breastfeeding and inappropriatecomplementary feeding during and after illness may have an important contributoryrole for the observed high prevalence of undernutrition in the district.The study revealed significant association between nutritional status anddifferent socio-economic variables, which indicate higher rates of undernutrition inthe households of vulnerable sections of society (SC & ST), among children oflandless labourers and illiterate fathers, and in households with no facility of asanitary latrine. Promotion of better infant and young child feeding and health carepractices is needed for improving the health and nutritional status of young children.Last but not least, there is a need to strengthen the programmes for incomegeneration to enhance household food and nutrition security.- o0o -Nutritional Status of