Association between stunting and obesity among underfive children in urban and rural areas of Oyo State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Malnutrition contributes to more than one-third of all child deaths worldwide and accounts for over 50 percent of under-five deaths in Nigeria. Both overnutrition and undernutrition exist among under-five children, leading to double burden of malnutrition, a major risk factor for chronic diseases. The study was conducted to assess the association between stunting and obesity among under-five children in urban and rural areas of Oyo State, Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out using a four-stage random sampling technique to select 450 (214 males and 236 females) under-five children from Ibadan North (Urban) and Ido (Rural) Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Oyo State. A pre-tested, intervieweradministered semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics of respondents. Weight and height of the children were measured and categorized according to the WHO Child Growth Standards. Results: Mean age of children was 29.8±17.0 months (Ibadan North, 29.1±16.8; Ido, 31.9±17.4 months) with 52.6% being female. The prevalence of stunting, overweight and obesity was 32.9%, 14.4% and 20.2%, respectively. A total of 30.7%, 17.2% and 22.1% of children in Ibadan North and 40.6%, 5.0% and 13.9% in Ido LGA were stunted, overweight and obese, respectively. High proportion of obese children (43.5%) was stunted, indicating co-existence of obesity and stunting among the population. Conclusion: Double burden of overweight and stunting found in urban and rural young children indicate that public policies should emphasise on targeting both malnutrition conditions to prevent the subsequent health risks and complicatio