Contribution of food insecurity to malnutrition in the form of stunted growth in children and overweight or obesity in mothers in Tilottama municipality of Nepal

Abstract

Double burden of malnutrition is recognized as an increasing concern of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to changes in economic growth, urbanization, globalization and food consumption patterns of populations. Nepal's surveying data showed high rate of stunting (36%) among the under-five children and higher proportion of overweight women that increased more than double from 9.0 % in 2000 to 22.1 % in 2016. This study aimed at identifying the prevalence of stunted child and overweight/obese mother (SCOWT) pairs in the same household and explore the correlation between SCOWT and food insecurity in a Tilottama Municipality of Nepal. The study design was mixed method comprising a cross sectional study to identify the prevalence of SCOWT within 385 households, and a qualitative study done among the key government personals and politicians through focus group discussion. Prevalence of SCOWT was found to be 8.6 %, and children initiated first weaning food only with animal milk (cow or buffalo) were (AOR: 2.450, 95% CI: 1.086 - 5.527, p- 0.03) 2.4 times more likely to have SCOWT. Eventually children with low weight for age (AOR: 2.636, 95% CI: 1.084 -6.409, p - 0.033) in child and mother pairs were 2.6 times more likely have SCOWT. Moreover, mother and child pair with low household dietary (AOR: 8.129, 95% CI: 2.055 -32.167, p-0.003) were eight times more likely to have SCOWT. Household food insecurity was not correlated with SCOWT (x?^2 =0.131, p = 0.717) The prevalence of SCOWT was higher (8.6%) in Tilottama Municipality than other studies conducted in other Asian countries. Findings from this study indicated that there was correlation between SCOWT and food insecurity. Therefore, more actions and further investigation are needed for identifying the correlation between food insecurity and SCOWT in developing countries.