International Journal of Health Sciences & Research (www.ijhsr.org) 237 Vol.7; Issue: 1; January 2017 International Journal of Health Sciences and Research www.ijhsr.org ISSN: 2249-9571 Original Research Article Household Food Security, Dietary Practices and Nutritional Status of Preschool Children in Bahari Division, Kilifi County, Kenya Msanzu Samuel Chea, Chege Peter, Maoga Winfred Nyamota Department of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics, Kenyatta University. Corresponding Author: Msanzu Samuel Chea Received: 07/11/2016 Revised: 12/12/2016 Accepted: 22/12/2016 ABSTRACT Background: Food insecurity is a public health problem of concern since its impact can havE detrimental effects on the life of an individual. Worldwide, 12% of people are unable to meet their dietary needs due to household food insecurity. Food insecurity and poor dietary practices has contributed to the high prevalence of malnutrition among preschool children. The importance of nutrition during preschool age has been realized worldwide. However, there exist minimal information on the relationship between food security, dietary practices and nutrition status of preschool children. The study, therefore, focused on household food security, dietary practices and nutritional status among preschool children in Bahari division, Kilifi County. Method: The study adopted cross-sectional analytical study design. A randomly selected sample of 402 mothers/ caregivers was distributed to all the sub-locations within a randomly selected location using proportionate to size sampling method. Results: Based on the findings 20.9% households were food insecure as shown by household dietary diversity score of < 4. The dietary practices were moderate as indicated by a mean number of meals (2.85±0.80): Only 49.4%; 52.4%; 58% preschool children consumed adequate sources of vitamin B3 (116.35±1.53), vitamin B2 (1.11±0.25) and calcium (484.70±31.88). About 4.1% of the preschool children were wasted; 20.7% underweight and 39.7% stunted. The results also indicated that there was an association between dietary practices and nutritional status of the preschool children (p<0.034). Conclusion: Household food security and appropriate dietary practices play a critical role in ensuring optimal nutrition of the preschool children. Key words: Food security, Household, Nutritional status, Preschool children. INTRODUCTION Household food security exists when all people, at all time, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for a healthy and an active life. [1] Household food security is determined by food stocks, weather variability, purchasing power, household income level, domestic production, food aid, food safety and hygiene and dietary diversity. [2] Literature has revealed that 805 million people are food insecure . [3] In Africa, nearly 240 million people lack adequate food for active life. [4] In Kenya, 1.5 million people are acutely food insecure. [5] Kilifi County is among the Counties experiencing high prevalence food insecurity as it experiences unreliable rainfall patterns attributing to low crop productions making food stocks prices in the market high. Out of every ten households, six are facing food scarcity. [6] Poor dietary practices have a negative impact on the nutritional status of the household members and preschool