Undernutrition in Nigeria: Examining the relationship between religious affiliation, ethnicity, and the nutritional status of children under age five in Nigeria

Adamu, Isa

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124179 Copy

Description

Title

Undernutrition in Nigeria: Examining the relationship between religious affiliation, ethnicity, and the nutritional status of children under age five in Nigeria

Author(s)

Adamu, Isa

Issue Date

2023-12-01

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Singleton, Chelsea Renee

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

• Singleton, Chelsea Renee
• Andrade, Flavia Christian Drumond

Committee Member(s)

• Schwingel, Andiara
• Arthur, Anna

Department of Study

Kinesiology & Community Health

Discipline

Community Health

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Religion
• Ethnicity
• Undernutrition
• Children underage five
• Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Child undernutrition is a major public health concern in Nigeria. Prior studies have identified several drivers of undernutrition among children under age five in Nigeria, including socio-demographic and environmental factors. There is limited knowledge of the cultural drivers of undernutrition. To address this gap, this dissertation addressed three specific aims: (1) determine if religion and ethnicity are associated with the prevalence of undernutrition (i.e., stunting, wasting, and underweight) among children under age five in Nigeria, (2) investigate the relationship between parental religion, ethnicity, and infant young child feeding practices in children aged 6-23 months, and (3) explore drivers of the disparities in stunting and wasting by religion and ethnicity among children under age five in Nigeria using Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition. Methods: This dissertation utilized cross-sectional data from the 5th Multiple Cluster Indicator Survey (MICS) 2016-2017. The analytical samples comprised 27,264 (aims 1 and 3) and 7,906 (aim 2) children under five in Nigeria. Parents or household heads provided data on the children and household. Anthropometric measures and z-scores were used to identify stunted, wasted, and underweight children. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models were examined to identify differences in odds when controlling for socio-demographic and environmental factors. Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition was used to decompose disparities in stunting and wasting between religious groups (Christianity vs. Islam) and ethnic groups (Hausa vs Igbo, Hausa vs. Yoruba). Results: Approximately 36.1%, 32.8%, and 8.1% of children under age five in the analytical sample were respectively experiencing stunting, wasting, and underweight. Findings from specific aim 1 revealed that Muslim children had higher odds of stunting, wasting, and being underweight compared to Christian children when controlling for important sociodemographic and environmental variables. Igbo and Yoruba children had lower odds of stunting and wasting compared to Hausa children. Analysis for specific aim 2 indicated that only 35% and 22% of the children in the sample met the recommended MMF and MDD, respectively. No differences in the odds of meeting the MMF were detected by religion. However, compared to the Hausa ethnic group, the Yoruba ethnic group had lower odds of meeting the MMF (OR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.47-0.76). No differences in the odds of meeting the MDD were detected by religion or ethnicity. Specific aim 3 revealed that the total gap in the prevalence of stunting and wasting between children of Muslim and Christian parents is about 26.7 and 23.8 percentage points, respectively. Approximately 14.9 percentage points (55.8%) of the stunting disparity were explained by socioeconomic variables such as maternal education, wealth, and place of residence; these variables explained 10.0 percentage points (42.0%) of the wasting disparity. The total gap in stunting between Hausa and Yoruba children and Hausa and Igbo children was approximately 39.1 and 34.4 percentage points, respectively. The selected variables explained 13.7 percentage points (35.0%) and 20.8 percentage points (60.0%) of the disparity, respectively. The variables also explained disparities in wasting by religion and ethnicity, with wealth index and mothers' education significantly contributing to the explained gap in all models. Conclusion: Findings suggest that Hausa ethnicity and Islam religion may be risk factors for undernutrition among children under five in Nigeria. Children whose parents practice the religion of Islam and children who identify with the Hausa ethnic group appear to have a higher prevalence of undernutrition compared to children of Christian households and children of other ethnic groups in Nigeria. The prevalence of children aged 6-23 months in Nigeria who are not meeting the MMF and MDD recommendations is high. Ethnicity appears to be associated with odds of meeting the recommended MFF. Lastly, the disparities in the prevalence of stunting and wasting by religion and ethnicity among children in Nigeria appear to be driven by socio-demographic differences; wealth index and mothers' education significantly contributed to the explained portion of the disparity in all models. Future work should explore other integral factors not considered in this study.

Graduation Semester

2024-05

Type of Resource

Thesis

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2024 Isa Adamu

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