An Investigation Into Factors Contributing To The Incidence Of Malnutrition Among Under Five-Year-Old Children In Bolgatanga Municipal Area In The Upper East Region Of Ghana Using Binary Logistics Regression Models.

This study was conducted with the objective of identifying some factors associated with the incidence of malnutrition and kwashiorkor among under-five year old children in the Bolgatanga municipality using Binary Logistics Regression and Classification and Regression Trees CRT. The study collected data through a health screening exercise in 2017 at five Nutrition centres that serve as catchment to communities in Bolgatanga and its surroundings. A sample size of 151 was randomly selected from 386 children screened during the exercise. The data revealed that under-nutrition is higher among boys than girls. Boys under the ages of five years appeared to be more prone to underweight and wasting compared with girls. The age body weight height and marital status of mothers were found to contribute to some extent the incidence of malnutrition of under-five-year old children. Analysis from classification and regression tress also revealed that each of the fifteen explanatory variables in the data except mothers education level Elevel appears to be contributory factors to the prevalence of malnutrition andor the occurrence of kwashiorkor among under-five-year-olds in Bolgatanga municipality. Underweight wasting and stunting which were found be the main indicators of kwashiorkor are a result of poor or insufficient provision of food andor exposure to diseases from poor environmental and health services in the municipality.