Association between infant and young child feeding indicators and the nutritional status of children aged 6-23 months in rural areas of Hunan Province in 2019

Abstract

To estimate the status of complementary feeding among infants and young children aged 6-23 months in rural areas of Hunan Province. The association between infant and young child feeding indicators and child undernutrition were assessed. A total of 1220 infants and young children aged 6-23 months from 24 investigated places of 6 cities in Hunan Province were selected by multi-stage stratified sampling for physical measurement, hemoglobin(Hb) test and caregiver interview. Complementary diet was analyzed according to the World Health Organization's definition of infant and young child feeding indicators. Z-scores were used to elevate nutrition status. Logistic regression models were used to explore the influencing factors of the nutritional status. The prevalence rates of underweight, stunting, wasting, overweight, obesity and anemia were 3.6%, 4.8%, 2.7%, 10.5%, 2.0% and 16.3%. The percentage of infants and young children aged 6-23 months in rural areas of Hunan Province who get minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency, and minimum acceptable diet was 43.3%, 68.5% and 28.1%. None of the individual infant and young child feeding indicators showed significant association with undernutrition, except minimum meal frequency for obesity and anemia. The nutritional status of infants and young children in rural areas of Hunan Province has improved, but the anemia problem is still serious. Complementary feeding frequency is closely associated with anemia for infants and young children.