Changes in Malnutrition Among Under 5 Years Old Children in North of Iran

Abstract

This study was carried out to compare nutritional status among under 5 years old children in the villages of Gorgan districts (North of Iran) during 1997 (stage 1) and 2004 (stage 2). By using cluster and simple sampling, 20 villages were chosen and 20 persons completed the questionnaires and measured cases' weight and height. The sample size was 5497 (stage 1 = 2639 cases and stage 2 = 2858 cases). Data of two stages was merged to the file and was analyzed by spss.win software. NCHS standard was used for comparison. Three anthropometrics indexes used in this study were defined with following scale: Underweight, Stunting and Wasting. The data of two stages was merged in a file and analyzed by sps.win software NCHS standard was used to compare of data and under -2SD from median of it computed as a start paint of malnutrition. The prevalence of malnutrition based on underweight, stunting and wasting were 5.7%, 30.2 and 3.82% in 1997 (stage 1) and 4.3, 14.3 and 2.9% in 2004 (stage 2), respectively. Statistical difference was significant between two stages based on underweight (p = 0.01) and stunting (p = 0.001). Secular growth improvement in boys was better than in girls. Overall, nutritional status was improved during 1997 to 2004 and in comparison with weight, height improvement was better. More researches are necessary to determine what factors contribute to this situation. © 2007 Asian Network for Scientific Information.