Given Hapunda

203 Figure 3: Under-five mortality rate in South Africa Until the eighteenth century, children were not considered to be part of scientific studies; in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, scientific study was introduced in children only through observation. This had a negative impact on children’s health as nutritional conditions were not measured, resulting in a high prevalence of malnutrition in young children and infant mortality (Mukherji & Albon, 2010). In efforts to deal with the causes of malnutrition discussed above, interventions have been conducted to address malnutrition both internationally and nationally at basic level through children’s right to sufficient food and basic nutrition, poverty reduction and social security, agriculture and food, as well as basic services; at underlying and immediate level, interventions have addressed malnutrition by promoting breastfeeding, complementary feeding and hygiene, as well as by supplementing Vitamin A and Zinc (Ruel, 2008). Rationale and Motivation of the Study Acute and chronic malnutrition are still prevalent in developing countries causing child death and also poor cognitive development and educational performance (Huybregts et al ., 2012). South African studies conducted among rural and urban children still indicate insufficient intake of macro- and micronutrients (Hendricks & Bourne, 2010). Effective feeding interventions impact positively on growth and development during childhood (Kounnavong et al ., 2011). However, there are other factors that influence choices and consumption of food, such as biological, physiological, sociological, psychological,