Abstract: Introduction: Addressing malnutrition is a critical public health challenge in India, particularly impacting infants and young children, leading to severe health issues. So, to combat this, our focussed on the identification of malnourished children in the study area.
Methods: A study was carried out on 30 infants and young children of age group 6-24 months from Dumra block in Sitamarhi District, Bihar. A pre-structured standard questionnaire was used and both general and anthropometric information were collected. Nutritional status of infants and young children was determined by processing the data on excel sheet, using descriptive statistics.
Results: The prevalence of severe acute malnutrition was 53.33 percent severely wasted, 56.67 percent severely stunted, and 63.33 percent severely underweight. Moderate malnutrition was also prevalent, affecting 40 percent, 33.33 percent, and 33.33 percent of children in the categories of moderate wasting, stunting, and underweight, respectively. Simultaneously, 6.67 percent, 3.33 percent, and 6.67 percent of children experience mild wasting, stunting, and underweight conditions.
Conclusions: Considering the high prevalence of malnutrition in the study area, it was suggested that proper preventive measures ought to be taken as soon as possible.
