Correlates of child undernutrition in Yemen

Background Malnutrition is part of a vicious cycle involving underlying factors related to biological and social aspects (WHO 1995). Some factors—known as proximal factors—are directly associated with malnutrition, such as inadequate dietary intake and incidences of disease, while others are more distant but no less important. These are socio-economic in nature and are associated with children’s nutritional conditions in a number of ways. For instance, poverty can be related to low levels of parental education, poor availability and quality of food, and lack of access to water/sanitation and adequate health care, all of which raise the risks of disease and contribute to poorer nutrient intake levels. As the relations between child malnutrition and its associated factors are complex, ranging from biological and social to environmental factors, there are several models to explain its determinants. For the purpose of this paper, we have adapted the conceptual Abstract