A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NUTRITIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF MOTHERS AND THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF CHILDREN

Background: Malnutrition is a critical health problem in India. One of the main reasons for this is incorrect dietary habits that can further lead to illness and infections in early childhood. Hence, it is essential to rectify misconceptions and educate mothers about proper nutrition.Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between the knowledge of mothers regarding child nutrition and the nutritional status of children in a rural area.Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in mothers and their children aged 6 months-12 years visiting the OPD of a rural medical college in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala from May to July 2024. Nutritional status of children was assessed by measuring both height and weight and then plotting BMI(Body Mass Index) against WHO(World Health Organisation) growth charts. Data acquired by printed questionnaires was then subjected to SPSS and analyzed with chisquare test. There were 56 boys and 46 girls among the children of the 102 participant mothers. 58( Results: 57%) of the mothers showed above average knowledge about nutrition and majority of them had good breastfeeding as well as complementary feeding practices. The study showed a total of 30 children (29%) to be malnourished of which 13 were boys (23.2%) and 17 were girls (36.9%). No signicant association between mother's knowledge and nutritional status of children was found. The relationship between color of the ration card and the nutritional status of children(both genders) was found to be signicant(p<0.0012). There was also signicant associations between regularity of paediatrician consultation and nutritional status of daughters(p<0.0164), quickly adding many food types while initiating complementary feeding and nutritional status of sons(p<0.0196) and gradually increasing amount of food while initiating complementary feeding with the nutritional status of daughters(p<0.0213).