PREDICTORS OF DOUBLE BURDEN OF MALNUTRITION AMONG MOTHER-CHILD IN KERICHO COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Double burden of malnutrition (DBM) is a global emerging problem in the low and middle-income countries. The coexistence of an underweight child with an overweight mother within the same household is a new occurrence as both shares a common environment, resources and has access to the same feeding habits and patterns. Several factors are responsible for this. Studies have been conducted on individual nutrition status of mothers and children. However, there is minimal information on dual burden of malnutrition. The main objective of this study was to investigate the predictors associated with double burden of malnutrition among the mother-child pairs living in Kericho County. The study design was cross-sectional analytical study design with a population of 346 participants comprising of a mother-child pairs living within the six sub-counties in Kericho County. A multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method was utilized to get the target households. A pre-tested questionnaire was used for collecting data such as: socioeconomic demographic characteristics, nutrition status for mother and child, food intake. Data entry, coding, cleaning and analysis were done using Ms Excel, SPSS version 26.0 and Nutri survey 2005 software. Chi square was used to analyze for categorical variables. P value for significance was set at p<0.05. The results showed that majority of the respondents 57.6% were aged between 36 and 49 years.Majority of mothers are married (68.8%), had attained secondary level of education (38.8%) and were in business (28.1%). A proportion (25.6%) the households did not access adequate food. Total mean maternal daily energy consumption was 1,441.3±343.2 kcal while for children it was 1,564.9 ±253.7 kcal. The numbers of meals taken per day were 3.2 ± 0.73 for mothers and 4.1 ± 0.91 for children. Slightly above half (56.4%) of the children were reported to have suffered from one or more of illnesses. Common illnesses include; common cold, diarrhea, malaria, and skin conditions. About 28.1% of mothers were overweight while 7.7% were obese. The children who were wasted was 34.6%, while 18.9% were stunted. The total prevalence of DBM with respect to wasting was at 8.5% of the pairs while 5.0% for stunting. The mother‟s age and energy intake were significantly (P<0.05) associated with occurrence of DBM. Similarly, the child‟s age and gender influenced the occurrence of DBM. This study revealed the double burden of malnutrition exists between child and maternal pair in Kericho. With age, dietary intake and morbidity status being the major determinants. The study recommends that health actors educate the mothers on maternal, infant and young child nutrition policy to fill in the existing gaps. The study also recommends that policy makers to review the Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition policy to take into consideration of double burden of malnutrition.