Couples’ Socio-Economic Characteristics; Determinants Of Children’s Nutritional Status In Akure South Local Government Area Of Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The aim of the study is to examine the socio-economic characteristics of couples as they affect the nutritional status of children ≤5 years of age in Akure South Local Government area of Ondo State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 200 couples whose last two children were not more than 5 years of age at the time of the interview. The mean age of the fathers was found to be 39years while that of the mothers was found to be 32years; more than half of the fathers (53.5%) had up to a tertiary education, whereas about half of the mothers (47.5%) had up to a secondary education. The result of the bivariate analysis revealed a significant relationship between fathers’ income and children’s nutritional status (p<0.05); so also a significant relationship was found between mothers’ age and children’s nutritional status. Further analysis using the logistic regression coupled with the forward stepwise regression further found fathers’ income as the best predictor of children’s nutritional status, while mothers’ age at first marriage was found to be the best predictor of children’s nutritional status.