Maternal nutritional knowledge and nutritional status of children in Tirupati Urban, Andhra Pradesh

Background: Mothers’ knowledge regarding child nutrition plays a significant role in determining pediatric health, dietary quality, and long-term development. This study observed the association between maternal nutritional knowledge and the nutritional status of children aged 2-6 years in Tirupati Urban, Andhra Pradesh. Methods: A systematic stratified random sampling technique was employed to select 321 pairs of mothers and children from ten Anganwadi centers. Anthropometric data (height, weight, mid-upper arm circumference, and head circumference) were collected from the children, and a structured 42-item questionnaire evaluated mothers’ nutritional knowledge across growth, nutrition, and hygiene domains. Data were evaluated using Z-scores and Chi-square analyses. Results: A high prevalence of underweight (55.7%) and stunting (16.2%) was observed among the children. The overall mother’s nutritional knowledge mean score was 17.25±2.60, representing a moderate baseline. Chi-square tests revealed that the statistically significant association between lower mothers’ nutritional knowledge and poor child nutritional indicators, including height, weight, mid-upper arm circumference, and head circumference (p≤0.001). Conclusions: Lower mothers’ nutritional awareness strongly associates with adversative child’s nutritional outcomes. Integrating targeted nutrition education programs into early childhood care services is crucial to improve regional child health indicators.