A study of risk factors contributing to the occurrence of excess weight with concurrent stunting in preschool children in Egypt

Abstract

Background Many low-income to middle-income countries are facing the dual burden of undernutrition combined with overnutrition. The legacy of malnutrition, especially among preschool children, is a huge obstacle to overall national development, so the ultimate aim for all children is to be free of malnutrition in all forms.Aim To assess the prevalence of concurrent stunting and overweight/obesity (OW/OB) among preschool children in Itay Albarud City, El Beheira Governorate, Egypt, and to reveal risk factors associated with the condition.Patients and methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 445 children aged less than 6 years in Itay Albarud, El Beheira, Egypt, during the academic year 2019/2020. Tools of the study were as follows: (a) a predesigned questionnaire containing sociodemographic data, feeding pattern, and health conditions of the child during infancy and childhood, and (b) weight and height measurement to calculate BMI for the child and parents.Results The prevalence of concurrent stunting and OW/OB was 2%. Concurrent stunting and OW/OB was more common in girls and children living in rural settlements (66.6%) than boys and urban ones (33.4%). Maternal age at child birth and nutritional status of mothers were also important factors contributing toward the condition.Conclusion This study showed a relatively high prevalence of concurrent stunting and OW/OB among preschool children (2%). Different factors seem to be predisposing to this problem, for example, sociodemographic factors, some acute and chronic diseases that affected the child, feeding pattern during infancy, and maternal nutritional status.