Abstract:
Background: Nutritional status of an individual depends on whether or not one is getting correct amounts and types of the required nutrients failure to which malnutrition develops. Malnutrition remains a public health concern as it affects a great number of children globally.
Objectives: To assess nutritional status, identify associated factors with nutritional status.
Design: A cross-sectional study.
Setting: Rural community living in Kambi Odha Sub-location of Isiolo County, Kenya.
Subjects: One hundred and ninety six children aged 3-5 years.
Results: Eighteen percent, nine percent and two percent were stunted, underweight, wasted respectively. Factors significantly associated with poor nutritional status were the child's mother being a housewife (OR 6.7; 95% CI 1.3-19.9, p=0.0006), child's mother having no education (OR 6.2;95% CI 1.8-21.4,p=0.0040), head of the household being employed (OR 3.3;95% CI 1.3-8.2,p=0.0116), mother's child having seven or more children (OR 6.6; 95% CI 1.7-26.4,p=0.0236),child having poor appetite (OR 3.3; 95% CI 1-8, p=0.0285),spouse determining the food to be bought or prepared in the household (OR7.1; 95% CI 2.7-18.7, p< 0.0001), money determining the food to be prepared or bought (OR8.7; 95% CI 3.4-22.1, p<0.0001), buying or borrowing water for household use (OR 4.8; 95% CI 1.7-13.9, p=0.0039) and absence of own pit latrine (OR 4.2; 95% CI 1.3-13.3, p=0.0155).
Conclusion: Child malnutrition continue to be a public health concern given that preventable factors such as environmental and family were demonstrated to have a higher association with nutritional status of the children.