Malnutrition Affects the Urban-Poor Disproportionately: A Study of Nigerian Urban Children of Different Socio-Economic Statuses

Abstract

Income inequality within the same place of residence may impact the nutritional status of children. This study therefore investigated the impact of income inequality on the nutritional status of children living in the same place of residence, using anthropometric tools. Children in four schools (Schools 1–4) within the vicinity of a housing estate in Umuahia, Nigeria, that charge fees making them ‘very affordable’, ‘affordable’, ‘expensive’ and ‘very expensive’, respectively, were recruited for the study. Thinness, overweight and obesity were defined using the Cole et al. reference standards. Thinness was present in 10.4% (13.0% of boys, 7.6% of girls); 20.4% (15.6% of boys, 27.3% of girls; and 0.7% (1.4% of boys, 0.0% of girls) of children in Schools 1–3, respectively; but absent in school 4. Only 3.7% (1.4% of boys, 6.1% of girls) and 5.6% (6.3% of boys, 4.5% of girls) of children in Schools 1 and 2, respectively, were overweight/obese. Conversely, 25.8% (18.9% of boys, 32.5% of girls) and 41.6% (38.8% of boys, 45.3% of girls) of children in Schools 3 and 4, respectively, were overweight/obese. The urban-poor (School 2) are clearly affected by malnutrition disproportionately.

Demystifying the factors associated with rural–urban gaps in severe acute malnutrition among under-five children in low- and middle-income countries: a decomposition analysis

“…One would have expected children in urban areas to have better nutritional outcomes but the reverse was the case in these two countries. This finding is corroborated by earlier reports that urban children, despite having better-off conditions, may suffer malnutrition more than rural children as a result of urbanization 5,39,40 . That is, in some cases, media access, education, better-off economic conditions may not be sufficient to avert SAM, the mothers' nutritional practices and hygiene, sanitation and environmental factors play a crucial role in malnutrition among children.…”

“…That is, in some cases, media access, education, better-off economic conditions may not be sufficient to avert SAM, the mothers' nutritional practices and hygiene, sanitation and environmental factors play a crucial role in malnutrition among children. A Nigerian study established that malnutrition affects the urban-poor children disproportionately 40 . This suggests that there may be a need to carry out further evaluation of this finding as slum children in urban areas, whose living conditions may be worse off than those in rural areas, are classified as urban children.…”

Moving Biofortified Cassava Products Closer to Market in Nigeria

“…Africa currently produces more than 50 percent of the world's cassava, with Nigeria producing nearly two-third of total cassava production in Africa. This makes Nigeria the highest producer in the world; a third more than Brazil and almost double the production capacity of Thailand and Indonesia (International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), 2009; Ejike, 2016).…”

“…This result evokes many questions such as the low level of marketing efforts and the poor presence of this product in the market. This could be due in part to a convergence of factors such as the institutional support system, land tenure, and other challenges which are mentioned in the context of low productivity in many developing countries (Moon et al, 2004;Smed, 2012;Ejike, 2016). Table 1 analyzed the respondents' adoption level of biofortified cassava value added products.…”

Analysis of equity and social inclusiveness of national urban development policies and strategies through the lenses of health and nutrition

“…Disparities exist in the nutritional status of the urban-poor, urban-middle, and urban-rich. More cases of malnutrition and thinness have been noted among the urban-poor than their counterparts, the urban-middle and urban-rich [ 6 ]. Vulnerable groups are oftentimes most affected by poverty, rising unemployment, poor living conditions, and low development indicators [ 7 ].…”