A recent study outlined diarrhoea, a child’s diet, number of children in a household, livelihood and lack of caregiver education as some of the factors that affect the prevalence of wasting among children aged under 5 years, especially in arid areas.
Wasting is a critical global health issue characterized by a child having low weight for height. This condition disproportionately impacts children in this age group.
The study conducted by a team of researchers from The University of Nairobi dubbed; Factors Influencing Wasting in Children Under 5 in Arid Regions of Kenya, outlined these multifaceted factors, which affects an estimated 45.4 million children worldwide and contributes to 45% of all preventable deaths of these children.
Conducted from April 2021 to October 2023, in Turkana and Samburu Counties in Kenya's arid regions, this study concluded that diarrhoea leads to significant losses of fluids and electrolytes and also reduces the body’s ability to absorb nutrients thereby leading to wasting.
It also stated that the number of children in a household leads to scarce resources like food thereby compromising access to nutrients. Dietary neglect by caregivers due to lack of nutritional education also favors wasting.
Underlying factors like caregivers who use alcohol also play a part.
Targeted nutrition-education interventions in areas with limited formal education, such as Turkana and Samburu, may help to reduce the burden of wasting. Incorporating animal-source foods into children’s diets would also lead to lower odds of wasting.
Providing timely treatment of diarhoeal diseases was also recommended.
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