Prevalence and associated factors of unhealthy food consumption among 6–23-month-old children in South Ethiopia; A community–based cross-sectional study

Unhealthy food consumption in children is an emerging public health problem and has various health effects on children. Overweight/obesity in children is increasing at an alarming rate due to an unhealthy diet and other associated factors. Hence, determining the unhealthy food consumption and responsible factors among 6-23-month-old children is vital to conducting a targeted intervention. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 392 randomly selected children whose ages were between 6-23 months at Arba Minch City, Gamo Zone, from March 12, 2024, to April 30, 2024. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews using a pretested structured questionnaire. A binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with unhealthy food consumption. In bi-variable analysis, variables with a p-value <0.25 were candidate variables for multivariable logistic regression analysis. An adjusted odds ratio with corresponding confidence interval was used to determine the strength of the association. A p-value <0.05 was used to declare statistical significance. The prevalence of unhealthy food consumption among children aged 6-23 months was 52.8% (95% CI: 47.7, 57.9). Age 12-17 months [AOR = 1.77; 95% CI = 1.77; 1.05, 2.97], bottle feeding [AOR = 2.36, 95%CI = 1.48, 3.75], sub-optimal dietary diversity score [AOR = 2.08; 95% CI = 2.08; 1.24, 3.49], no postnatal care visit [AOR = 2.39, 95% CI = 1.07, 5.33], and insufficient maternal knowledge of child-feeding[AOR = 1.65; 95% CI = 1.01, 2.70] were significantly associated with unhealthy food consumption. Over half of children aged 6-23 months consume unhealthy food in the city. Unhealthy food consumption was influenced by being at a younger age, bottle feeding history, sub-optimal dietary diversity, no postnatal care visit, and low maternal child feeding knowledge among these young children. Designing interventions aimed at boosting maternal understanding of child feeding practices and improving health care services with a focus on children's healthy diet status in the city is highly encouraged.