Assessment of Nutritional Status of Undernourished Children (12 to 23 Months) in a Flood-Affected Zone in Samastipur District of Bihar, India

Abstract

Malnutrition refers to a broad range of health issues, including undernutrition and overnutrition."Undernutrition" is a condition marked by stunting (a low height-to-age ratio), wasting (a low weight-to-height ratio), and underweight (a low weight-to-age ratio) as well as micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies. The aim of the study was to assess the nutritional status of undernutrition young children (12 to 23 months) in the flood-affected zone in Samastipur district of Bihar, India. A structured questionnaire was used to gather general information such as age, gender, family size, economic status, and clinical signs. Dietary intake data was collected using the 24-hour recall method, which resulted that the mean height and weight of the subjects were 76.90 ± 2.99 cm and 8.50 ± 0.73 kg respectively. It was found that the majority of the subjects were breastfed milk as well as weaning food only 2-3 times, in which the mean nutrient intake of energy, protein, calcium, and iron was 500.88 ± 68.15 Kcal (50.28%), 4.85 ± 0.55 (43.00%), 169.86 ± 19.42 (35.88%) mg and 1.85 ± 1.82 mg (23.25%) respectively, in which the dietary intake was comparatively low when compared with the EAR and RDA by ICMR. It was concluded that the selected subjects did not receive adequate nutrition to maintain their health and nutritional status and were undernourished.