Factors associated with wasting and stunting among children aged 06–59 months in South Ari District, Southern Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study

Table 1 Socio-demographic and economic characteristics of children aged 06–59 months in South Ari District, Southern Ethiopia, 2021 (N = 717)

Variables	Categories	Frequency (N)	Percent (%)
Child Age	06–23 months	218	30.4
Child Age	24–59 months	499	69.6
Sex of child	Male	385	53.7
Sex of child	Female	332	46.3
Maternal Age (in years)	15–19	2	0.3
	20–24	151	21.1
	25–29	241	33.6
	30–34	140	19.5
	≥ 35	183	25.5
Marital status	Single	70	9.8
	Married	624	87.0
	Widowed	8	1.1
	Divorced	15	2.1
Religion	Orthodox	171	23.8
	Protestant	525	73.2
	Muslim	10	1.4
	Catholic	7	1.0
	Others	6	0.6
Ethnicity	Ari	650	90.6
	Amhara	63	8.8
	Others	4	0.6
Maternal education	No formal education	300	41.8
	Primary education	286	39.9
	Secondary education and above	131	18.3
Maternal occupation	Farmer	317	44.2
	Government employee	278	38.8
	Daily laborer	34	4.7
	Merchant	51	7.1
	No work	30	4.2
	Others	7	1.0
Family size	2–4	309	43.0
	5–7	318	44.4
	≥ 8	90	12.6
Household wealth index	Poor	239	33.3
	Medium	261	36.4
	Rich	217	30.3
Household food security status	Food secure	396	55.2
Household food security status	Food insecure	321	44.8
Productive safety-net program beneficiary status	Yes	123	17.2
Productive safety-net program beneficiary status	No	594	82.8

ISSN: 2055-0928