Role of sociocultural perceptions in malnutrition of children under the age of 5 years in a semi-urban community of Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of sociocultural perception on the nutritional status of children under five years of age.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study using a self-constructed questionnaire was conducted at the Shifa Rotary Clinic, Nurpur Shahan, Pakistan, from February to October 2016, and comprised mothers and children. Mothers age 18-45years having a child less than 5 years old were included. SPSS 21 was used for data analysis. .

RESULTS: Of the 564 participants, 526(93.3%) were housewives and 38(6.5%) were working mothers. The overall mean age was 27.49±5.197 years. Mother was the decision-maker for child nutrition in 344(61.0%) cases while the father was the decision-maker for child nutrition in 106(18.8%) cases. About 64(11.3%) wasted colostrums, of which 18(28.1%) acted on their own accord 46(71.9%) on others' advice. Mother as the decision-maker for child nutrition was found to be significantly associated with normal child nutritional status (p<0.05).In our study male child was 2.29 times likely to have a normal nutritional status as compared to a female child (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Sociocultural perceptions were found to have a significant impact on nutritional status of children under the age of 5 years.