Abstract
Undernutrition and anaemia (the commonest micronutrient deficiency), continue to remain prevalent and persistent in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) alongside a rising prevalence of overweight and obesity. However, there has been little research on the co-existence of all three conditions in the same household in recent years. The current study examines the co-existence and correlates of the different conditions of household burden of malnutrition in the same household across SSA. The study involved twenty-three countries across SSA who conducted Demographic and Health Surveys between 2008 and 2017. The analytical sample includes 145 020 households with valid data on the nutritional status of women and children pairs (i.e. women of reproductive age; 15-49 years and children under 5 years). Logistic regression analyses were used to determine household correlates of household burden of malnutrition. Anaemia was the most common form of household burden of malnutrition, affecting about seven out of ten households. Double and triple burden of malnutrition, though less common, was also found to be present in 8 and 5 % of the households, respectively. The age of the household head, location of the household, access to improved toilet facilities and household wealth status were found to be associated with various conditions of household burden of malnutrition. The findings of the current study reveal that both double and triple burden of malnutrition is of public health concern in SSA, thus nutrition and health interventions in SSA must not be skewed towards addressing undernutrition only but also address overweight/obesity and anaemia.
Highlights
The results of the current study suggest that the prevalence of single conditions of malnutrition is comparatively higher than double and triple burden of malnutrition
The present study found that increasing age of children under 5 years was associated with a higher likelihood of household triple burden of malnutrition (TBM) contrary to the findings of Sunuwar and colleagues in Nepal[46], while in Pakistan and Myanmar, Anik and colleagues found that child’s age (24–59 months) was associated with a higher likelihood of the household experiencing a double burden of malnutrition[47]
The findings of the current study reveal a high prevalence of various forms of household burden of malnutrition the single burden of anaemia, undernutrition and overweight/obesity
Summary
CountryBurkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Congo Benin Ethiopia Ghana Guinea Cote d’Ivoire Kenya Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Mali Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda South Africa Zimbabwe Tanzania Zambia Total Year Sample sizeData sources and procedures The current study used data from the most recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) conducted across SSA where data were available. For the purposes of the current study, the following inclusion criteria; (i) only subSaharan African countries, (ii) most recent survey conducted between 2008 and 2017 and (iii) the survey included indicators of children’s nutritional status (i.e. stunting, wasting and Hb concentration) and women’s nutritional status (i.e. BMI and Hb level) were applied in extracting data for the analysis. Based on these criteria, a total sample of 145 020 households with women–child pairs from twentythree countries was realised (Table 1). The final analytical sample includes twenty-three countries with valid data on all variables of interest
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