prevalence and its related factors of undernutrition among under 5-year-old children, fars, iran 2017- 2018

The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence and related factors of under-nutrition among under 5- year-old children in fars province, iran.  methods: this cross-sectional survey was conducted during 2017-2018 in fars province of iran. the study consisted of 606 children (0-59 months) from 13 regions of fars province. a structured questionnaire collected the data, and under-nutrition indices, including stunting, wasting, and underweight, were investigated by the mixed-effects ordinal logistic regression model. results: the prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting were 2%, 4%, and 4.1%, respectively. low birth weight was a risk factor for three undernutrition indices (p < 0.001; p < 0.001; and p = 0.004). urban children were significantly more underweight and wasted than rural children (p = 0.001; and p = 0.002, respectively). under-nutrition rates were impressed by the family size, mother’s education, and father’s occupation.  conclusion: the prevalence of undernutrition in children can be reduced by identifying and controlling significant factors, including birth weight, maternal education, type of settlement, family size, and father’s occupation.