Assessing the Nutritional Gap among Under-five Children in Urban Mysore - Cross-sectional Study

Introduction:Malnutrition in children under 5 years is one of the leading problems affecting their growth and development. According to the National Family Health Survey-5 data in urban areas in India, 27.3% were undernourished, 30.1% were stunted, 18.5% were wasted, 7.6% were severely wasted, and 4.2% were overweight. Therefore, it is necessary to determine their nutritional gap and its factors to prevent complications.Materials and Methods:The analytical cross-sectional study was done in urban Mysore. The sample size was 171 under-five children. Malnutrition was assessed using the WHO standards by calculating weight for height. A questionnaire on associated factors was used. The calorie intake was calculated using the 24-h recall method.Statistical Analysis Used:Data were entered into an Excel spreadsheet and analyzed using SPSS software version 26 and inferential analysis was done using the Chi-square test.Results:The prevalence of nutritional gap is 28.1% among 171 under-five children. Factors such as socioeconomic status, education of the head of the family, energy requirement, and midupper arm circumference also were found to be have significant effects on nutritional status.Conclusion:Most of the under-five children were found to be deficient in calorie intake and the prevalence of wasting in the field practice area is lower than the national average. Few risk factors are associated with the nutritional gap in children under the age of five.