DIFFERENCES BETWEEN UNDERWEIGHT AND NORMAL-WEIGHT RURAL PRESCHOOL-CHILDREN IN TERMS OF INFANT-FEEDING PRACTICES AND SOCIOECONOMIC-FACTORS

Objective. To investigate infant feeding practices and socio-economic factors as possible causes of undernutrition in underweight preschool children. Design. A matched case-control study. Methods. Data on feedi ng practices and socioeconomic factors in matched groups of underweigh t children (UC) and normal-weight children (NC) were collected from th eir caretakers by means of personal interviews. The survey was underta ken in a semi-rural village, Monyamane, in Northern Province. Children aged between 7 and 71 months were matched according to age and sex, w ith 57 children in each group. Conditional logistic regression was use d to investigate the relationship between the UC and NC groups for uni variate and multivariate analyses.Results. Results indicated a low ris k of underweight when a guardian looked after the child (0.26) and a h igh risk when solid foods were introduced before 5 weeks of age (9.42) . There was a very high risk when the mother did not have a post-matri c qualification (19.40), when the father was unemployed (7.45), and wh en there were more than 7 children living in the house (3.98). Conclus ion. Specific infant feeding practices (early introduction of solids) and socio-economic factors (poor maternal education, paternal unemploy ment; more than seven children in the house) increased the risk of und ernutrition in preschool children.