Peer-reviewed article
FACTORS OF STUNTING IN TODDLERS: A LITERATURE REVIEW
Filiyanti Halim, Ermiati Ermiati, Eka Afrima Sari ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This literature review examines risk factors for stunting in toddlers by synthesizing 21 articles from multiple databases. The authors identified 21 distinct risk factors across four categories: child factors (low birth weight, immunization status, nutritional intake), parental factors (height, knowledge, occupation), socio-economic factors (family income, family size), and environmental factors (sanitation, hygiene practices, infectious disease exposure). The review emphasizes that stunting prevention requires addressing this complex interplay of factors through early detection tools and health education. The findings highlight the multifactorial nature of stunting and suggest comprehensive approaches are needed for prevention in Indonesia and globally.
Key points
- Twenty-one risk factors for toddler stunting were identified across child, parental, socio-economic, and environmental categories
- Nutritional factors include insufficient energy, iron, protein, calcium, zinc intake, and vitamin C and D deficiency
- Breastfeeding practices (exclusivity, early initiation, age of introduction, frequency) are significant protective or risk factors
- Parental factors include mothers' height, knowledge, occupation, and family income level
- Environmental and hygiene factors such as sanitation, cleanliness, and hand-washing practices influence stunting risk
Limitations
As a literature review without primary data collection, this work cannot quantify the relative importance of different risk factors or establish causal relationships. The review does not provide evidence on intervention effectiveness for addressing these risk factors.
Abstract
Stunting in toddlers is one of the health problems that has not been resolved globally, also in Indonesia. Stunting can be prevented by early detection based on the risk factors for the disease. The literature review aims to examine those articles and find out every risk factor for stunting in toddlers. This literature study used a scoping review method by searching through several search engines such as Google Scholar, ProQuest, PubMed, and EBSCO. After sorting the articles, there are 21 articles used in this literature study. The results of this literature study showed twenty-one risk factors for stunting in toddlers, such as exclusive breastfeeding and the initiation of early breastfeeding. A history of low birth weight, immunization, the number of family members, insufficient nutritional needs (energy, iron, protein, calcium, and zinc), colostrum, breastfeeds (age of administration, type, and frequency). The practice of washing hands, mothers' occupation, mothers knowledge, low family income, history of infectious disease, sanitation and cleanliness of the environment, parents' height, especially mothers, lack vitamin C and vitamin D also as risk factors for stunting. To conclude, stunting in toddlers was influenced by various factors which are child factors, parents, socio-economic, and environmental factors. Therefore, it is essential to consider all the factors to develop stunting early detection tools for toddlers ang health education materials.