title: Influence of feeding practices and associated factors on the nutritional status of infants in rural areas of Madhya Pradesh state, India.
abstract: A community based cross-sectional study was undertaken in rural Madhya Pradesh (MP). The nutritional status of infants was assessed using WHO Child Growth Standards. Only 26% of infants received breast-feeding within 1 hour of birth. About 57% of children 6 to 11 months old received complementary feeding (CF). The prevalence of underweight, stunting, and wasting was 41%, 29%, and 33%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that the risk of underweight and stunting was 1.4 times higher among children belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes compared with others, 1.4 to 1.6 times among children from households with the lowest wealth index, and 1.5 times among children of illiterate mothers. Hygienic practices, birth weight, home delivery, and CF practices were also significantly (P < .01) associated with undernutrition in multivariate analysis. Undernutrition is an important health problem in MP, and urgent steps are required to formulate policies and strategies to improve infant and young child feeding practices, socioeconomic conditions, and literacy and encouraging institutional delivery and personal hygiene.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad, India indrapal.m@rediffmail.com.
authors.forename: Indrapal Ishwarji
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Meshram
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad, India.
authors.forename: Mallikharjun Rao
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Kodavanti
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad, India.
authors.forename: Gal Reddy
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Chitty
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad, India.
authors.forename: Ravindranath
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Manchala
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad, India.
authors.forename: Sharad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad, India.
authors.forename: Sreerama Krishna
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kakani
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad, India.
authors.forename: Venkaiah
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kodavalla
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad, India.
authors.forename: Laxmaiah
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Avula
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad, India.
authors.forename: Brahmam Ginnela
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Narsimhachary Veera
mesh_terms: D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D015995:Prevalence; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013851:Thinness / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: family medicine; health education; health promotion; maternal and child health; nutrition/dietetics; public health; public health nutrition; social determinants of health