Department of Biological and Food Sciences, The Open University of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Nutr Health. 2024 Sep;30(3):521-529. doi: 10.1177/02601060221129004. Epub 2022 Oct 11.
Under nutrition has been a major problem in developing countries including Tanzania; hence, contributing to about half of the deaths among young children. The current study aimed at identifying child feeding practices and determinants of stunting in children under the age of five years in Mvomero District. A cross-sectional study involving 150 mother-child pairs was carried out in Turiani ward, Mvomero district in Morogoro region. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with stunting. A p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered sta-tistically significant. Five focus group discussions comprising 5-9 mothers with children below five years participated in the study. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data from the in-depth interviews. The prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting in Mvomero district was 16.8, 42.2, and 6.2% respectively. Pre-lacteal feeding was common in the study area (40%). Children were introduced to complementary food too early (<6 months) with plain maize porridge being the first food introduced. About 57.2% of children were on the lowest tercile (≤3 food groups per day) dietary diversity score. Significant determinants of stunting were the family source of income (AOR 1.63, 95% CI: 1.99-2.3), age of a child (AOR 2.66, 95% CI: 1.03-3.50) and family size (AOR 3.22, 95% CI: 1.61-4.27). Other factors were consumption of animal foods (AOR 5.30, 95% CI: 0.26-0.60) and dietary diversity score (AOR 1.615, 95% CI: 1.014-2.574). Child feeding practices in the study area are sub-optimal. These findings have important implications for interventions to address stunting among children.
营养不良一直是包括坦桑尼亚在内的发展中国家的一个主要问题；因此，它导致了大约一半的五岁以下儿童死亡。本研究旨在确定莫罗戈罗地区姆沃罗罗区五岁以下儿童的喂养方式和发育迟缓的决定因素。在莫罗戈罗地区姆沃罗罗区图里亚尼区进行了一项涉及 150 对母婴的横断面研究。使用二变量和多变量逻辑回归模型来确定与发育迟缓相关的因素。p 值≤0.05 被认为具有统计学意义。有 5 个包含 5-9 名 5 岁以下儿童的母亲参加了焦点小组讨论。采用主题分析法对深入访谈数据进行分析。姆沃罗罗区的消瘦、发育迟缓、消瘦的患病率分别为 16.8%、42.2%和 6.2%。在研究区域，开奶前喂养很常见（40%）。儿童过早（<6 个月）引入补充食品，第一食物是普通玉米粥。约 57.2%的儿童的饮食多样性得分最低（≤3 组/天）。发育迟缓的显著决定因素是家庭收入来源（AOR 1.63，95%CI：1.99-2.3）、儿童年龄（AOR 2.66，95%CI：1.03-3.50）和家庭规模（AOR 3.22，95%CI：1.61-4.27）。其他因素是动物食品的消费（AOR 5.30，95%CI：0.26-0.60）和饮食多样性得分（AOR 1.615，95%CI：1.014-2.574）。研究区域的儿童喂养方式并不理想。这些发现对解决儿童发育迟缓的干预措施具有重要意义。
