title: Nutritional assessment of Ethiopian Beta-Israel children: a cross-sectional survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Malnutrition is a public health problem of significant importance in developing countries. The main aim of this survey is to assess the nutritional status of children of the Beta-Israel community in Gondar, Ethiopia, with special emphasis on the anthropometric growth patterns of infants under 5 years of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a descriptive cross-sectional survey of 794 preschool children of the Beta-Israel community. The survey comprised socioeconomic and demographic data, evaluation of anthropometric measurements, and clinical evaluation of children for nutrition-related health problems. The clinical variables included assessments for vitamin A, iodine, and iron deficiencies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Underweight, stunting, and wasting were seen in 14.6%, 37.2%, and 4.5% of the children, respectively. Moreover, severe underweight, severe stunting, and severe wasting were seen in 2.9%, 14.8%, and 0.5% of the children, respectively. Malnutrition affected 41.4% of all the children, with those 12-23 months old suffering the most (66.7%). Multivariate analysis noted that smaller family size and younger age were related to higher occurrence of malnutrition among children. An overall rate of stunting of 37.2% exceeds the urban average rate for Ethiopia (29.8%). All the children had been breastfed at least for some time, and among those older than 6 months, 46.8% were exclusively breastfed for 6 months. Of the infants, 82.9% were breastfed for over 2 years. No correlation existed with pattern or duration of breastfeeding and degree of malnutrition in infants over 6 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The urban Beta-Israel Jewish pediatric population in Gondar, Ethiopia suffers from a high rate of malnutrition manifested primarily by stunting (height for age), reflecting a state of chronic malnutrition after 6 months of life secondary to inadequate sources of complementary feeds for the breastfeeding infant.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Getahun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Asres
authors.forename: Arthur I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Eidelman
mesh_terms: D000886:Anthropometry; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003677:Deficiency Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009752:Nutritional Status; D015995:Prevalence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013851:Thinness / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data