Assessment of Prevalence and Determinants of Malnutrition Among Under-Five Children at Uith

ABSTRACT
The first one thousand days of life are the most crucial in terms of child development. Poor nutrition is associated with delayed brain development during this period and it has a negative effect on adult cognitive development, educational achievement and economic productivity. The objectives of this study focused on assessment of the prevalence of malnutrition, dietary level and determinants of malnutrition among children under-five at the pediatric clinic of University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital. Cross-sectional research design was adopted as primary data were gotten through administration of questionnaire to 85 under-five children and their caregivers using stratified sampling technique. Data collection was done by use of structured questionnaire which was administered. The data collected was collated into Microsoft Excel and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 27. WHO Anthro plus software was used to analyze and classify malnutrition indices among under-five children. The data were analysed descriptively using frequency tables and percentages. Inferential statistics using Chi-Square analysis was conducted to determine the hypothesis. This study revealed that malnutrition remains significant public health concern among under-five children attending UITH, despite relatively favorable sociodemographic indicators like parental education, healthcare access, and household income. Considerable proportion of children were found to be severely stunted (37.7%), severely wasted (17.6%), and severely underweight (21.2%). Although dietary intake of protein-rich foods like milk, eggs, and legumes was high, the low consumption of tubers and fats indicates poor dietary diversity. Chi-square analysis revealed that age and birthweight show significant relationship (p