Household Food Insecurity and Nutritional Status of Children Aged 6-59 Months: A Cross-Sectional Study in Yenagoa Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Abstract

Household Food Insecurity, a global public health problem linked to nutrition, should be addressed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 2 by 2030. Aims: To determine the prevalence of Household Food Insecurity, assess the nutritional status (stunting, underweight, wasting, overweight/obesity) in food secure and food insecure households and assess the predictors of malnutrition in food insecure households. Study Design: Cross -sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Yenagoa Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, Nigeria between December 2022 and February 2023. Methodology: This community-based study recruited 600 children aged 6-59 months. Data collection employed interviewer-administered questionnaire including the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale and measured the children’s anthropometry. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of malnutrition in food insecure households. P-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The prevalence of Household Food Insecurity was 81.5%. The  overall prevalence  of stunting, underweight, wasting, overweight/obesity was 14.8%, 7.3%, 9.8%, and 4.8%/1.6% respectively with significant differences in their prevalence in food secure and food insecure households (3.6% vs. 17.4%, 1.8% vs. 8.6%, 5.4% vs. 10.8%, 10.8 % vs. 3.5 % and 6.3 % vs. 0.4% respectively, (p=0.001 for all cases).The predictors of malnutrition in food insecure households were mother’s level of education, number of children in the household, hand hygiene, wealth index, the index child’s  vaccination status, child’s age and experience of fever in the preceding two weeks of the study. Conclusion: The prevalence of household food insecurity was high and was associated with malnutrition. Improving household/family practices and women’s sociodemographic profiles are strategies to combat this scourge.