Prevalence of Stunting and its Biosocial Determinants among Young Children Enrolled at Urban Anganwadi Centers in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand.

Background: Stunting is a significant public health problem in childhood in developing countries. Sustainable Developmental Goals have mandated that each country reduce stunting by 50% by 2030. However, despite various nutrition and health programs, India still faces a massive burden of stunting. With the increasing urbanization in the country and its typical challenges related to health and nutrition, chronic malnutrition is a massive problem in urban areas, especially among people in the lower wealth quintile. Hence, current study has attempted to estimate the prevalence of stunting among children (0-6 years) and its determinants.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Urban Anganwadi centers of Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, for 6 months, from December 2021 to May 2022. Three hundred ten children from 13 selected Anganwadi centers were included using random sampling. Data were collected using a semi-structured validated and pretested questionnaire using Epicollect 5.0. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 23.0 version to estimate the prevalence of stunting and associated risk factors.

Results: Out of 310 participants, 71 (22.9%) were stunted. Female children were slightly more stunted (24.7%) than males (21.1%). Maximum stunting (33.4%) was observed among children in the 5-6-year age group, and children with higher birth order were much more stunted. Stunting was reported more in children who were breastfed on demand (33.8%) than those fed every 2 hours (19.3%).

Conclusion: Stunting prevalence in urban areas of Rishikesh is 22.9%, which is almost similar to the state average of 24.3% for urban areas; however, it was higher in comparison to the SDG 2030 global target of ending malnutrition of all forms. Stunting was significantly associated with feeding on demand and eating frequency less than twice a day.