Nutritional Status of Under-five Children among Urban Slum Dwellers in Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Abstract

Background Childhood malnutrition is a leading public health issues in Bangladesh. Present study focused
on current nutritional status among underprivileged children (0 to 59 months), living in selected slum areas
of Dhaka city.
Methods Data were collected from 138 under-five children and their mothers in a cross-sectional study using
simple random sampling from two slums (Mirbag and Modhubag) of Dhaka city. A structured questionnaire
was administered to collect demographic, anthropometric (involving stunting, wasting and underweight)
and other information related to nutritional status.
Results Anthropometric data revealed, the prevalence of both stunting and underweight was more in female
child, 29% and 41% respectively, whereas the prevalence of wasting was more than 50% in both male and
female. Qualitative analysis of mother’s food intake revealed that, major portion of diet came from plant
source whereas animal sources contributed trivial portion. Tendency to skip meal also reflected poor food
intake both in quality and quantity.
Conclusion Findings of this study revealed, nutritional status of under-five children is associated with
multiple factors contributes to childhood undernutrition and attempts should be taken to improve the
nutritional status of this disadvantageous cohort, living in impoverished areas of an affluent city of Dhaka.