Determinants of child malnutrition—An intervention model for Botswana

Child malnutrition measured by stunting, wasting, and under-weight is a serious problem in Botswana. There are conflicting reports from previous studies in developing countries on the effect of some of the known factors affecting child malnutrition. We used descriptive statistics, regression, and lo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrition research (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 1999-06, Vol.19 (6), p.843-860
Main Authors: Tharakan, Cheriyan Thomas, Suchindran, Chirayath M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
age
Biological and medical sciences
birth weight
body weight
Botswana
breast feeding
Child Malnutrition
children
dairy products
demography
Determinants of Malnutrition
diagnostic techniques
duration
education
food intake
foods
Logistic Regression
malnutrition
Medical sciences
Metabolic diseases
morbidity
nutritional intervention
Other nutritional diseases (malnutrition, nutritional and vitamin deficiencies...)
socioeconomic status
Stunting
symptoms
Underweight
Wasting
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Summary:Child malnutrition measured by stunting, wasting, and under-weight is a serious problem in Botswana. There are conflicting reports from previous studies in developing countries on the effect of some of the known factors affecting child malnutrition. We used descriptive statistics, regression, and logistic regression methods to identify the determinants of malnutrition based on data from a national cross-sectional study. There is 29.6% stunting, 14.9% underweight, and 7.1% wasting among children. Ordered logistic regression analysis shows the significance of some of the factors not shown by association statistics, regression analysis, and ordinary logistic regression analysis. Hence it is a better tool in the search for determinants of child malnutrition. The determinants of malnutrition cover biological, social, cultural, economic, and morbidity factors: age, birth-weight, breast-feeding duration, gender of family head, residence, house type, toilet facility, education of mother and father, child caretaker; intake levels of milk and dairy products, staple foods and cereals, and beverages; and incidence of cough and diarrhea. The influence of these factors can be used in the development of strategies of intervention for reducing child malnutrition.
ISSN:0271-5317
1879-0739
DOI:10.1016/S0271-5317(99)00045-7