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Complementary Feeding Practices and Nutritional Status of 06-24
Months Old Child

Jahanzeb Khan Afridi, Shahrukh Yar, Asif Nawaz Afridi, Mian Abdur Rehman, Mustafa Kamal and Muhammad Kashif Hussain

ABSTRACT

Objective: In order to have a baseline knowledge of the prevalence and effects of CFPs on the nutritional status of the target group, it was necessary to measure complementary feeding indicators among children aged 6-24 months in the study population.

Study Design: A Cross-Sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Department of Paeds, HMC, Peshawar from Jan 2023 to Jan 2024.

Methods: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional one on 150 children at a probation age of 6-24 months. Questionnaires are structured, instruction includes feeding practices and frequency, choice of food inclusive of snacks. Necessary anthropometric indices were collected to determine the nutritional condition of the students. The null hypothesis was addressed using descriptive statistics which incorporated inferential which required use of mean standard deviation and P values.

Results: The age of the children was calculated mean, SD, and Pf, for this purpose: The mean age of the 150 children was 14.3 ± 4.5 months. A very high proportion of the children suffered from malnutrition, mostly underweight and stunting, 30% and 25% respectively. Unhealthy feeding practices, late complementary feeding and low meal frequency were established in 40% of the participants. The p-value analysis (p < 0.05) indicated that there is a relationship between feeding practices and nutritional status. Thus, controlling for other relevant determinants, children with good practices as recommended by the CF had better growth score compared to the poor practices.

Conclusion: In this study, the importance of proper complementary feeding needed in enhancing the nutritional status of children is emphasized. Initiation of the multiple and Density selected Food early enough and frequent times enhances children health and development. These results indicate that further public health interventions should target the improvement of optimal CF practices by caregivers.

Key Words: Complementary feeding, nutrition, 6-24 month, malnutrition

Citation of article: Afridi JK, Yar S, Afridi AN, Rehman MA, Kamal M, Hussain MK. Complementary Feeding Practices and Nutritional Status of 06-24 Months Old Child. Med Forum 2024;35(8):51-54. doi:10.60110/medforum.350811.