Underweight, Stunting and Wasting among Children in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania; a Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Melina Mgongo, Nikolas A. S. Chotta, Tamara H. Hashim, Jacqueline G. Uriyo, Damian J. Damian, Babill Stray-Pedersen, Sia E. Msuya, Margareta Wandel and Siri Vangen
Additional contact information
Melina Mgongo: Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, 0863 Oslo, Norway
Nikolas A. S. Chotta: Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, 0863 Oslo, Norway
Tamara H. Hashim: Better Health for African Mother and Child, P.O. Box 8418, Moshi, Tanzania
Jacqueline G. Uriyo: Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, 0863 Oslo, Norway
Damian J. Damian: Institute of Public Health, Department of Community Health, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, P.O. Box 2240, Moshi, Tanzania
Babill Stray-Pedersen: Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, 0863 Oslo, Norway
Sia E. Msuya: Better Health for African Mother and Child, P.O. Box 8418, Moshi, Tanzania
Margareta Wandel: Department of Nutrition, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1046, 0317 Oslo, Norway
Siri Vangen: Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, 0863 Oslo, Norway

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-12

Abstract: This study assessed the prevalence and risk factors associated with underweight, stunting and wasting among children aged 0–24 months in six districts of Kilimanjaro region, northern Tanzania. A cross-sectional population-based study using a multistage, proportionate to size sampling was conducted from June 2010 to March 2011. A structured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic, economic, feeding and child information. Anthropometric data were collected by trained field workers, and the data were used to assess child nutritional status. A total of 1870 children were enrolled in this study. The prevalence of children classified as underweight was 46.0%, stunting was 41.9%, and wasting was 24.7%. About 33% were both underweight and stunted, and 12% had all three conditions. In a multivariate logistic regression, child age, child being ill and birth weight were associated with all anthropometric indices. Child being breastfed was associated with being underweight and wasting. Mother’s education was associated with being underweight and stunting. Fathers aged 35+ years, and living in the Hai district was associated with stunting, and being female was associated with wasting. The prevalence of child undernutrition is high in this region. Strategies that target each risk factor for child undernutrition may help to reduce the problem in the region.

Keywords: underweight; stunting; wasting; breastfeeding; child illness; Kilimanjaro; Tanzania (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/5/509/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/5/509/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:5:p:509-:d:98129

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().