Does household food insecurity influence nutritional practice of children age 6 to 23 months in Bangladesh?

Authors

  • Mohammad Rocky Khan Chowdhury Lecturer, Department of Public Health, First Capital University of Bangladesh, Chuadanga
  • Russell Kabir Senior Lecturer, Department for Allied and Public Health, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, Essex
  • Konstantinos Papadopoulas Lecturer, Department for Allied and Public Health, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, Essex
  • SM Yasir Arafat Resident, Department of Psychiatry, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka
  • Manzur Kader Researcher, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund
  • Mohbub Alam Lecturer, Department of Public Health, First Capital University of Bangladesh, Chuadanga
  • Md Nazrul Islam Mondal Department of Population Science and Human Resource Development, University of Rajshahi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3329/seajph.v6i2.31836

Keywords:

Household food insecurity, Children, Nutrition, MDG, Bangladesh

Abstract

To examine the prevalence of household food insecurity (HHFI) among children aged between 6-23 months in Bangladesh. This paper also aims to identify the individual, household and community levels determinants of HHFI and the association between nutritional behavior and HHFI. Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey (BDHS), 2011 was used for this research. A total of 2,344 children were selected for analysis. Statistical analysis and tests were guided by the nature of the variables. Finally, logistic regression analysis was used to find out the association between independent variables and outcome. The overall prevalence of HHFI was 36.3% (95% CI: 33.6-39.0) among the participants (children). The prevalence of HHFI was significantly higher among children who did not receive nutritional items. In contrast, HHFI was more prevalent among children who were breastfed (37.0%) as compared to non-breastfed. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that children of illiterate mothers (adjusted OR: 2.20, 95% CI: 1.17-4.10), illiterate fathers (adjusted OR: 2.27, 95% CI: 1.41-3.66) and socio-economically poor families (adjusted OR: 11.35, 95% CI: 7.20-17.91) were more at risk of experiencing HHFI, whereas, rural children (adjusted OR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.57-0.93) were more protective. In the adjusted logistic regression model, children who did not receive juice (adjusted OR: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.09-2.16) had experienced HHFI. The prevalence of HHFI among children is still high in Bangladesh. Therefore, to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, the Government of Bangladesh should priorities HHFI as a major public health issue. Strong collaborations among various stakeholders are also crucial to improve the situation.

South East Asia Journal of Public Health Vol.6(2) 2016: 53-60

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Author Biography

Mohammad Rocky Khan Chowdhury, Lecturer, Department of Public Health, First Capital University of Bangladesh, Chuadanga



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Published

2017-04-22

How to Cite

Chowdhury, M. R. K., Kabir, R., Papadopoulas, K., Arafat, S. Y., Kader, M., Alam, M., & Mondal, M. N. I. (2017). Does household food insecurity influence nutritional practice of children age 6 to 23 months in Bangladesh?. South East Asia Journal of Public Health, 6(2), 53–60. https://doi.org/10.3329/seajph.v6i2.31836

Issue

Section

Original Research