Household Food Insecurity May Predict Underweightand Wasting among Children Aged 24–59 Months

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to examine the association between household food insecurity and nutritional status among children aged 24–59 months in Haromaya District. Children (N = 453) aged 24–59 months were recruited in a community-based cross-sectional survey with a representative sample of households selected by a multistage sampling procedure in Haromaya District. Household Food Insecurity Access Scale and anthropometry were administered. Multinomial logistic regression models were applied to select variables that are candidate for multivariable model. The prevalences of stunting, underweight, and wasting among children aged 24–59 months were 61.1%, 28.1%, and 11.8%, respectively. The mean household food insecurity access scale score was 3.34, and 39.7% of households experienced some degree of food insecurity. By logistic regression analysis and after adjusting for the confounding factors, household food insecurity was significantly predictive of underweight (AOR = 2.48, CI = 1.17–5.24, p = .05) and chronic energy deficiency (AOR = 0.47, CI = 0.23–0.97, p = .04) and marginally significant for wasting (AOR = 0.53, CI = 0.27–1.03, p = .06). It is concluded that household food security improves child growth and nutritional status.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethiopia
• household food insecurity
• preschool children
• undernutrition

Acknowledgments

We express our gratitude and appreciation to all participants and staff of Haromaya District Health Office who assisted in this study.

Funding

This work was supported by Tehran University of Medical Sciences, International Campus (TUMS-IC), Tehran, Iran (grant number 94-01-103-28587).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Tehran University of Medical Sciences, International Campus (TUMS-IC), Tehran, Iran (grant number 94-01-103-28587).

Notes on contributors

Ahmed A. Abdurahman

Ahmed A. Abdurahman wrote the proposal; contacted the authorities involved in the study; supervised the data collection in the fieldwork, data entry, and data analysis; and wrote the initial draft manuscript. Dr. Khadijeh Mirzaei, Dr. Ahmed Dorosty, Dr. A. Rahimiforoushani, and Dr. Haji Kedir advised and participated in the design of the study. All authors participated in the review of the manuscripts and read and approved the final manuscript.