Prevalence of malnutrition among under-five children in migrant population of Udupi District, Karnataka, India

Background: Protein energy malnutrition (PEM) is the most widespread health and nutritional concern in all the developing countries. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report of 2015 states that, 90% of the world's chronically malnourished children lived in Asia and Africa. In India, 20% of the under-five children suffer from wasting. Migration plays an important part in population dynamics. This has an adverse effect on the health of children, which leads to child mortality as they are greatly exposed to many health problems. Objective: This cross sectional study intends to determine the prevalence of malnutrition among under-five children. Materials and Methods: A total of 260 under-five children (6 months to 5 years) and their mothers (dyad) were selected using cluster sampling from selected migrant population of Udupi district, Karnataka. Data were collected using demographic proforma, modified Kuppuswamy socioeconomic scale and assessing the anthropometric measurements. Results: The overall prevalence of malnutrition was 151 (58.07%) children according to Indian Academy of Pediatrics classification for weight for age. Maximum 109 (41.92%) children were normal, 86 (33.08%) were in grade I malnutrition, 45 (17.31%) were in grade II malnutrition, 16 (6.15%) were in grade III malnutrition, and 4 (1.54%) were in grade IV malnutrition. Stunting was found among 176 (67.7%) children, wasting among 51 (19.6%) children and 127 (48.8%) children were underweight. Conclusions: The prevalence of malnutrition among under-five children was high among the migrant population and remedial measures should be taken to improve their nutritional status.