Citation
Tharakan, Cheriyan Thomas & Suchindran, Chirayath M. (1999). Determinants of Child Malnutrition: An Intervention Model for Botswana. Nutrition Research, 19(6), 843-860.Abstract
Child malnutrition measured by stunting, wasting, and under-weight is a serious problem in Botswana. There are conflicting reports from previous studies in developing countries on the effect of some of the known factors affecting child malnutrition. We used descriptive statistics, regression, and logistic regression methods to identify the determinants of malnutrition based on data from a national cross-sectional study. There is 29.6% stunting, 14.9% underweight, and 7.1% wasting among children. Ordered logistic regression analysis shows the significance of some of the factors not shown by association statistics, regression analysis, and ordinary logistic regression analysis. Hence it is a better tool in the search for determinants of child malnutrition. The determinants of malnutrition cover biological, social, cultural, economic, and morbidity factors: age, birth-weight, breast-feeding duration, gender of family head, residence, house type, toilet facility, education of mother and father, child caretaker; intake levels of milk and dairy products, staple foods and cereals, and beverages; and incidence of cough and diarrhea. The influence of these factors can be used in the development of strategies of intervention for reducing child malnutrition.URL
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0271-5317(99)00045-7Reference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
1999Journal Title
Nutrition ResearchAuthor(s)
Tharakan, Cheriyan ThomasSuchindran, Chirayath M.