BACKGROUND : In India, malnutrition in children under the age of five is a major public health issue. Notwithstanding India's economic prosperity, the undernutrition-related infant mortality rate remains high in both urban and rural areas.
OBJECTIVES : To ascertain the prevalence of malnutrition among young children (under the age of five).
METHODOLOGY : A cross-sectional study was undertaken on children under five at Anganwadis in Poonamallee, Tamil Nadu. The study used multi-stage sampling. Socio-demographic profiles of mothers with under-five children and a structured knowledge questionnaire assessed mothers' nutritional awareness. WHZ, WAZ, and MUAC were determined from anthropometric measures of children under five. Growth charts were retained after evaluations. The data was entered into MS EXCEL and analyzed with SPSS Version 16. Continuous variables were defined by mean, median, and mode, while categorical variables were described by proportion.
RESULTS : 17.65 percent of the 340 children that were evaluated were found to be underweight, 12.06 percent were found to be stunted, and 3.82 percent were found to be wasting. Underweight and stunting were statistically linked. The child's age and birth order were statistically significant predictors of underweight in this study. The stunting scores of children under five were statistically associated with their age (?2 = 11.96, p < 0.001). This study found that wasting scores were significantly affected by age and birth order.