The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Sustainable Diets
Volume 11 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1400276
Undernutrition and associated factors among school-age children in Wolaita zone, South Ethiopia: A comparative cross-sectional study
Provisionally accepted- 1 Kindo Didaye district health office, Wolaita Zone, South Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia
- 2 College of Health Sciences and Medicine, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, Ethiopia
- 3 Wolaita Sodo University, Tracha Campus Dawuro, Tarcha, Ethiopia
Background: Nutritional deficiencies in school-age children are a public health concern, especially in resource-limited countries. A school feeding program is the provision of food on-site or taken home to reduce hunger. It is implemented in several developing nations; however, little is known about the association of school feeding programs with the nutritional status of school-age children in the study areas.Objectives: To determine the magnitudes and associated factors of undernutrition among school-age children with school-feeding programs (SFP) and non-school feeding programs (N-SFP) in Kindo Didaye woreda, South Ethiopia.The school-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted at Kindo Didaye district from May to June 2023. A total of 612 participants were included in the study. Data were collected from each selected student's parents by using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Weight and height of the children were measured and a household dietary diversity assessment was conducted. Data were analyzed by using SPSS version 25. A binary logistic regression analysis was carried out. A p-value of less than 0.05 and 95% CI were used to declare a statistically significant association.The magnitude of undernutrition among school-age children was 38.9%; 43.3% in schools with SFP and 34.5% in schools with N-SFP. Stunting was 24.1% among children in schools with SFP and 16% in N-SFP, whereas thinness was 33.8% among children in SFP and 25.6% in N-SFP.Children who are in the older age group (AOR=4.4, 95%CI; 2.22-8.85), consume less than three meals per day at home (AOR=6.03; 95%CI 3.9-9.3), and do not eat breakfast at all before going to school (AOR=3.5; 95%CI 1.15-10.76) were more likely to become undernourished. Children whose fathers attended secondary and above education (AOR=0.52; 95% CI (0.27-0.971) had lower odds of becoming underweight.The magnitude of undernutrition was high in the current study. Existing interventions that work to improve the nutritional status of school-age children should be strengthened. Children should consume any type of food as breakfast at home before going to school regardless of the presence of school feeding programs, and at least three times a day.
Keywords: Under-nutrition, School-age children, School feeding program, Kindo Didaye district under-nutrition, and school feeding program
Received: 13 Mar 2024; Accepted: 28 Aug 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Kutafo, Abiso, Koyira, Belete and Dake. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Mengistu M. Koyira, College of Health Sciences and Medicine, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, Ethiopia
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.