Malnutrition in children under 5 years of age in an ICBF children's home

Abstract

Introduction: Taking into account that CONPES 113 of 2008 considers malnutrition as a potential situation where there may be a shortage of food supply, changes in the initial endowment of income and/or physical and human assets, and/or change in their purchasing power, which leads to an imbalance in nutrient intake, both due to deficit (malnutrition) and excess (overweight and obesity), or specific micronutrient deficiencies (WHO – UNICEF), the present research was formulated, which aimed to analyze the risk factors that affect malnutrition in children under five years of age in the ICBF children's home in the municipality of Caicedonia. Valle del Cauca. Materials and Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional correlational approach was used, with anthropometric evaluation of the 145 children enrolled in this home. In addition, surveys were applied to 145 parents and/or primary caregivers. Results: The results show that 23.4% of children are at risk of overweight and 0.7% of children are at risk of acute malnutrition. Conclusions: It is concluded that the risk factors associated with malnutrition are education, economic capacity and inadequate eating practices in early childhood, associated with cultural traditions that affect balanced feeding and exclusive breastfeeding.