Studies on the nutritional status of children aged 0–5 years in a drought-affected desert area of western Rajasthan, India

Abstract

Objective: The present study was undertaken to assess the impact of drought on the nutritional status of pre-school children aged 0-5 years from a rural population in a desert area facing drought conditions very frequently. Design: The sampling design for assessment was the three-stage sampling technique. Setting: The study was carried out in 24 villages belonging to six tehsils (sub-units of district) of Jodhpur District, a drought-affected desert district of western Rajasthan, during a drought in 2003. Subjects: A total of 914 children were examined at household level, with nutritional status assessed by anthropometry, dietary intake and clinical signs of nutritional deficiency. Results:The results revealed growth retardation. Stunting (malnutrition of long duration) was observed in 53% of children and underweight in 60%. Wasting, an indicator of short-duration malnutrition, was present in 28% of children. The extent of malnutrition was significantly higher in girls than boys (P , 0.05). Vitamin A and B complex deficiencies were found in 0.7 and 3.0% of children, respectively. Prevalence of marasmus (protein-energy malnutrition, PEM) was 1.7% (2.3% in boys and 1.1% in girls). Overall deficits in mean energy and protein intakes were very high (76 and 54%, respectively). Comparison of the present drought results with earlier studies in desert normal and desert drought conditions showed higher prevalence of PEM and higher dietary energy and protein deficiencies. Conclusions: The prevalence of wasting was high, greater than the cut-off point of 15% stated by the World Health Organization to indicate that the severity of malnutrition is critical. PEM, vitamin A and B complex deficiencies and anaemia, along with dietary deficits of energy and protein, were observed to be higher than in non-desert areas. This may be due to the harsh environmental conditions in desert areas where drought occurs quite frequently and adversely affects the economy, largely by eroding the coping capacity and economic potential of the people as a result of heavy livestock losses and reduced harvests, leading to increased poverty and poor food intake of the inhabitants. Due to inadequate consumption of daily food the children were suffering from wasting and PEM. Efforts should be made to incorporate measures, such as ensuring the supply of adequate energy and protein to all age groups and especially pre-school children, into ongoing nutrition programmes in order to improve the food security of local inhabitants in this area.

Child Malnutrition and Associated Factors among Drought Affected Pastoralists in the Somali Region, Eastern Ethiopia

“…Solomon and Amare (2013) have reported 42.3% of wasting, 34.4% of stunting and 47.7% of underweight in Dolo Ado district of Somali region South of Ethiopia while Yalew (2014) has indicated stunting, wasting and underweight in the order of 44%, 29% and 10% respectively in Lalibela, Amhara regional state, Northern Ethiopia [12,13]. The chronic malnutrition rates in our study are quit in agreement with a number of other studies while the findings on the acute malnutrition rates are higher than previous reports [9,10,[12][13][14][15]. This can be associated to the fact that our study community were under a continued food and nutrition security problem where two consecutive rains failed [16].…”

“…Thirty percent of the children studied had MUAC less than 11.5cm which is the cutoff point recommended by WHO for public health emergency interventions. Mason, et al (2012) and Singh, et al (2006) have similarly reported high malnutrition rates in children in households affected by drought and conflicts [9][10][11]. Solomon and Amare (2013) have reported 42.3% of wasting, 34.4% of stunting and 47.7% of underweight in Dolo Ado district of Somali region South of Ethiopia while Yalew (2014) has indicated stunting, wasting and underweight in the order of 44%, 29% and 10% respectively in Lalibela, Amhara regional state, Northern Ethiopia [12,13].…”

Nutritional status among boys and girls of a central Indian Town (Sagar)

“…The incidences of undernutrition obtained in the present study were found to be distinctly lower than those among tribal children of Madhya Pradesh (51.6% stunting, 61.6% underweight and 32.9% wasted) as documented by Rao et al (2005) and among children of Rajasthan (53% stunting, 60% underweight and 28% wasted) as reported by Singh et al (2006). Similarly, the incidences of wasting in present studied boys and girls were found to be lower than the values reported from West Bengal (13.94%) and Assam (14.42%) by Som et al (2006).…”

Micronutrient deficiency status among women of desert areas of western Rajasthan, India

“…frequent occurrence of drought, low rainfall and high temperature, which affect the economy and food intake of the inhabitants (15,16) . According to WHO (1) , at present, iron and vitamin A supplementation are the most common strategies currently used to control these deficiencies in developing countries for the time being.…”