Parent's food preference and its implication for child malnutrition in Dabat health and demographic surveillance system; community-based survey using multinomial logistic regression model: North West Ethiopia; December 2017

• Published in: BMC pediatrics Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 304 - 10
• Main Authors: Tebeje, Nigusie Birhan, Biks, Gashaw Andargie, Abebe, Solomon Mekonnen, Yesuf, Melike Endris
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 02.09.2019; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Age; Analysis; Care and treatment; Caregivers - statistics & numerical data; Caretaker; Child health; Child malnutrition; Child Nutrition Disorders - epidemiology; Child Nutrition Disorders - etiology; Child, Preschool; Childhood; Children; Children & youth; Childrens health; College professors; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dabat; Data collection; Data entry; Developing countries; Diet; Educational Status; Ethiopia - epidemiology; Families & family life; Family; Female; Food; Food habits; Food preference; Food Preferences; Health aspects; Health surveillance; Humans; Infant; Infant Food; LDCs; Logistic Models; Male; Malnutrition; Mothers - statistics & numerical data; Nutrition; Parent; Parent-child relations; Parents; Parents & parenting; Pediatrics; Population Surveillance; Public health; Questionnaires; Religion; Risk factors; Shortages; Sociodemographics; Supervisors; Surveillance equipment; Under-five; Vaccination; Ethiopia; Under-five; Caretaker; Dabat; Children; Parent; Food preference
• ISSN: 1471-2431; 1471-2431
• DOI: 10.1186/s12887-019-1692-3

A Shortage or excessive intake of the nutrient is malnutrition; affecting every aspect of human beings. Malnutrition at childhood has long-lasting and multiple effects. In Ethiopia significant numbers of children were suffering from malnutrition that might be associated with parents' food preference; the fact not yet investigated. Therefore the aim of this study was to assess parents' food preferences and its implication for child malnutrition. The study was conducted among 7150 mothers/caretakers in Dabat demographic and health surveillance site. Data were collected by experienced data collectors working for the surveillance centers after extensive training. A multinomial logistic regression model was fitted to determine the effect of factors on the dependent variable and model fitness was checked using a likelihood ratio test. About 62.55% of mothers/caretakers prefer to feed children with a family and 16.45% of them prefer to feed children with a specific type of food. Mothers/caretakers who introduce semisolid food after 6 months 2.34(1.50-3.96) were times more likely prefer to feed with family food for their children than a balanced diet. Regarding the specific type of food preference mothers who introduce semisolid food after 6 months and those obtain food from the market were 6.53(3.80-11.24) and 4.38(3.45-5.56) times more likely to prefer to feed specific types of than balanced diet respectively. Food preference had contributed to the increased and persistent magnitude of child malnutrition as 62.55% of mothers prefer to feed children with family and only 21% of them prefer to feed a balanced diet for under-five children. Therefore we recommended integration of child dietary diversity, acceptability and safety counseling session for mothers visiting health institutions for child vaccination, ANC and PNC services.