NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF 6 TO 59 MONTHS OLD CHILDREN AND EXISTING FOOD TABOOS IN THARU COMMUNITY OF KHANAR, SUNSARI

Abstract

Objective: To access the factors associated with nutritional status of 6 to 59 months children of Tharu community as well as to find out the food taboos of that community. Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 180 children aged 6 to 59 months of Tharu community of Khanar, Sunsari. Children were selected by random sampling technique. Anthropometric measurement and semi- structured questionnaires were used. Anthropometric measurement was then used to determine if children were underweight (weight for age), wasted (weight for height) and stunted (height for age) based on WHO reference. KII (Key informant interview) was used to find out the food taboos of that community. Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 20 and WHO-Anthro version 3.2.2 were used for analyzing the data. Chi-Square test and Fischer exact test was used to identify the associated factors of malnutrition. Results: The study revealed 25%, 31.1%, 26.7%, and 1.1% children were stunted, underweight, wasted and overweight respectively. There was no association between any of the factors and stunting. Weight of the child at birth and diversity of food was found to be associated with wasting. Diversity of food was found to be associated with underweight. Conclusion: Result of this study indicates that under nutrition is still an important problem among 6 to 59 months children of Tharu community of Khanar. Also there is still wide prevalence of food taboos in this community.