Predictors Associated with Double Burden of Malnutrition among Child-Mother Pairs in Kericho County, Kenya

Abstract

In low-and middle-income nations, the double burden of malnutrition is a rising problem. It is unusual for an underweight child and an overweight mother to exist together in the same household because they both occupy a shared environment and have access to the same dietary patterns and habits. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictors associated with double burden of malnutrition among the child-mother pairs living in Kericho County. The research design employed was cross-sectional descriptive study. The target population was 346 comprising of a child- mother pairs within the six sub-counties within Kericho County. The research employed the multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method to obtain the target households. A pre-tested questionnaire collected data from socioeconomic demographic characteristics, nutrition status for mother (Body Mass Index,) child (BMI- Z-scores), food consumption and frequency. Data processing was done using Ms Excel, SPSS vs. 26.0 and Nutri survey 2005 software. Categorical variables were analyzed, while measures of central tendencies and dispersion were computed. The benchmark for the level of significance were at 0.05 alpha level (p<0.05. The results showed that majority of the respondents (57.6%) were between 36-49 years. The study findings also revealed that 18.9% of children were stunted, 11.5% wasted, 5.8% obese and 8.1% overweight. The study also found that 28.1% of mothers were overweight while 7.7% were obese and 16.9% were underweight. The variables: Weight of; mother’s age, weight and height, child’s age, gender and weight were significantly associated with double burden of malnutrition among child-mother pairs. The mother’s weight, height and age, the child’s weight, age and gender influences the nutritional outcomes which has an influence in controlling DBM. The study recommends that policy makers to review the Maternal, Infant and Young Child Feeding Nutrition (MIYCN) policy to take into consideration the double burden of malnutrition.