Abstract:
Background: Successful complementary feeding practices during infancy and young childhood are known to be key in
securing effective, long-term nutritional well-being. It is recommended that feeding a child on complementary starts from the
age of six months with dietary diversity and minimum feeding frequency. This is in addition to breast milk. Studies show a link
between feeding practices of children and their nutrition status. There is limited information on the feeding practices and
nutritional status of children 6-23 months of age among the Maasai community of Kenya.
Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study design was adopted. A total sample of 400 mothers and children were selected
using simple random sampling. anthropometric data was collected using mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) tapes, weighing
scale and height or length measuring board. Their corresponding deviation scores (z-scores) was calculated with reference to
the cut off points recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) 2006. ENA for SMART, 2011 software was used to
analyze anthropometric data. Quantitative data analyzed using statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS) version 20.
Statistical significance was set at p value less than 0.05. The data collected was summarized into descriptive statistics of mode
and percentages for variables such as complementary feeding practices. Inferential statistics used include: Chi- Square-test for
categorical or nominal data such as associations between variables. T-test and ANOVA was used for continuous data to test for
significant differences and association between independent variables such as complementary feeding practices.
Results: The prevalence of malnutrition measured by stunting, wasting and underweight among the children was 47.3%,
19.8% and 37.8% respectively. Comparison of the prevalence of malnutrition between the boys and girls revealed that stunting
and underweight was significantly higher in the girls (stunting, 67.3%; underweight, 44.1%) compared to the boys (stunting,
26.8%; underweight, 31.3%), (χ2
= 65.995, p = 0.000 for stunting and χ2
=6.913, p = 0.009 in the case of underweight). On the
other hand a bigger proportion of the boys had low weight – for- height (38.9%) compared with the girls (1.0%), χ2 =90.614, p =
0.000).
Conclusions: The findings will be useful in identifying and bridging gaps in complementary feeding practices among the
Maasai community and other communities.
