{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,28]],"date-time":"2026-03-28T08:46:36Z","timestamp":1774687596460,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":66,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,19]],"date-time":"2023-07-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1689724800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Northern Africa faces multiple severe detrimental factors that impact child nutrition. This study aimed to identify the predictors for wasting and underweight in children aged 0\u201359 months in Northern Africa. We analysed pooled cross-sectional data from multiple-indicator cluster surveys conducted in four countries (Algeria, Egypt, Sudan, and Tunisia) involving 37,816 children aged 0\u201359 months. A logistic regression analysis was used, considering clustering and sampling weights, to identify factors associated with wasting and underweight among children aged 0\u201323, 24\u201359, and 0\u201359 months. Among children aged 0\u201359 months, the overall prevalence was 7.2% (95% CI: 6.8\u20137.5) for wasting and 12.1% (95% CI:11.7\u201312.5) for underweight. Sudan and Algeria had the highest rates of wasting, while Sudan and Egypt had the highest rates of underweight. Multiple regression analyses indicate that factors associated with wasting and being underweight include child age, country, rural residency, poor wealth index, being male, birth order, maternal education, body mass index, media use, lack of diverse foods, longer duration of breastfeeding, perceived small baby size, and diarrhoea. These findings highlight the importance of implementing targeted health and nutrition initiatives, such as maternal education, family planning, and community engagement. Priority should be given to children from underprivileged areas who lack proper dietary variety.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu15143207","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,19]],"date-time":"2023-07-19T21:21:46Z","timestamp":1689801706000},"page":"3207","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Wasting and Underweight in Northern African Children: Findings from Multiple-Indicator Cluster Surveys, 2014\u20132018"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0482-4352","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nagwa Farag","family":"Elmighrabi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown Campus, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2571, Australia"},{"name":"Organization of People of Determination and Sustainable Development, Benghazi, Libya"},{"name":"Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, University of Benghazi, Benghazi 1038, Libya"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9630-1064","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Catharine A. K.","family":"Fleming","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown Campus, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2571, Australia"},{"name":"Translational Health Research Institute (THRI), School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2750, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4111-3207","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kingsley E.","family":"Agho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown Campus, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2571, Australia"},{"name":"Translational Health Research Institute (THRI), School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2750, Australia"},{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2094, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2023, June 12). 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