Abstract:
Undernutrition in children remains a public health concern. Despite the
global efforts to address undernutrition, Lesotho continues to bear the highest
burden of childhood undernutrition. The study assessed the anthropometric
measurements and dietary intake of children aged 6–24 months. A descriptive
cross‐sectional study was conducted among 113 mother–child dyads attending
clinic visits at Makoanyane Military Hospital (Maseru district); n = 50 and
Motebang Hospital (Leribe district); n = 63. A structured sociodemographic
and feeding practices questionnaires based on adapted World Health Orga-
nization (WHO) questionnaires were used. The usual food consumption was
collected using an unquantified food frequency questionnaire. Anthropo-
metric measurements and z scores computation were done as per WHO
standard guidelines. Statistics included percentages for categorical variables
and means for continuous variables. The percentage of continued breast-
feeding was 54.0% in Maseru and 28.6% in Leribe districts. Complementary
feeds were introduced at the mean age of 5.3 � 1.0 (Maseru) and
5.2 � 1.3 months (Leribe). In Leribe, 84.1% of children were consuming maize
porridge every day while in Maseru, 68.0% of children were consuming
commercial baby cereal every day. The prevalence of wasting was 10.0%
(Maseru) and 20.6% with 14.3% of severe wasting (Leribe). A higher per-
centage of stunting was observed in Leribe (36.5%) than in Maseru (20.0%)
(p < 0.001). The prevalence of moderate and severe stunting was 8.0% and
12.0% in Maseru and 20.6% and 15.9% in Leribe, respectively. The prevalence
of stunting is alarmingly high in Leribe. The findings suggest an urgent need
to strengthen maternal and child health and nutrition programs to ameliorate
feeding practices and nutritional status
