Nutritional Status of One to Five Year Old Children Admitted at Rangpur Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh

Malnutrition among one to five year old children is a chronic problem in developing countries. They are most vulnerable group in our country. Objective This cross sectional study was carried out to assess the nutritional status of one to five year old children in Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. Methods The parameters were used to evaluate the nutritional status were weight for age, height for age, weight for height Z score and mid upper arm circumference (MUAC). Results The study documented, the mean age of the children was 3.881.10 years and most (86.37 %) of children were from 3 to 5 years of age group. Female children were 60 % and male children were 40.0 %. Near about one third (38.2 %) of the mothers were in the age group 18-25 years. The mean age of the mothers was 26.214.99 years and age range was 18-38 years. Nearly half (45.5 %) of the mothers had a background of primary education whereas more than half (54.5 %) of the fathers had a background of primary education. Among the mothers, 74.0 % were housewife. Among the fathers, 69.1 % were laborer. More than half (58.2 %) of respondents were living in nuclear family. Most (81.8 %) of the respondents monthly family income were 7000-15000 taka. Most (95.5 %) of the children were vaccinated. Maximum (77.3 %) mothers took antenatal visit during pregnancy. More than half (54.5 %) of the children were born at term and 60.0 % deliveries were conducted at hospital. Among the children, 9.1 % of the children were severe underweight, 10.9 % were severe stunted and 11.8 % were severe wasted. According to MUAC, 33.6 % were malnourished. Conclusion These data suggest that about one-third of the children suffer from malnutrition.