An exploratory study on the prevalence and factors contributing to malnutrition among children (1 to 5 years) in a selected rural area of district Sangrur, Punjab

Malnutrition has been defined as a pathological condition resulting from a relative or absolute deficiency or excess of one or more nutrients. Malnutrition continues to be a growing problem in most developing countries. It comprises of four forms – under-nutrition, over-nutrition, imbalance and specific deficiency. Objectives: To assess the prevalence of malnutrition among children. To assess factors contributing to malnutrition among children. To find out association of prevalence of malnutrition with factors contributing to malnutrition. To find out association of prevalence of malnutrition with selected demographic characteristics. To prepare and provide IEC material in the form of pamphlets regarding prevention of malnutrition. Methodology: An exploratory research design, total 300 children, Convenience sampling technique was adopted to recruit study sample and checklist is used to assess factors contributing to malnutrition. Findings of the study: Findings of the study depicts that among 300 children, 216 (72%) children had normal nutritional status and 84(28%) children were malnourished. In the malnourished children, 18(6%) were grade, 23(7.67%) were grade II, 16(5.335) were grade III and 27(9%) were grade IV malnourished. Conclusion: The study concluded that 28% of children were malnourished as per WHO child growth standards.