Selected socio-economic, environmental, maternal and child factors associated with the nutritional status of infants and toddlers
Gopaldas, T.; Patel, P.; Bakshi, M.
Food and Nutrition Bulletin 10(4): 29-34
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0379-5721 DOI: 10.1177/156482658801000419Document Number: 372497
In a survey of 786 children aged 0-3 years in Gujarat State, India, various factors were shown to be associated with nutritional status. The findings were weakly statistically significant, with probabilities of 0.01-0.05. Among infants, low income, low maternal height and weight and maternal age <15 years were all associated with poorer nutritional status (low weight-for-age). Among toddlers (aged 1-3 years) those whose families were Muslim, were from castes other than Schedule castes and Schedule tribes (low castes), had >9 members, had an income per caput of >100 rupees a month and, in the rural areas, had land holdings of >2 hectares, had a better nutritional status than their counterparts. Toddlers whose mothers had some education and whose homes had good sanitation and access to drinking water were also better nourished, and male toddlers were better nourished than female. These findings are consistent with many earlier reports except for the association between larger families and better nutritional status. This finding may be due to the availability of women to care for the young children.Jean King Data of 24 hours dietary intake of children up to 3 years of age were collected from 9 villages in Panchmahals and Bharuch Districts, Gujarat, and from 10 urban slum areas in the city of Barodo. The results indicate that the infants had better nutritional state than toddlers. Maternal height and weight were found to have a significant association with nutritional state of infants, reflecting their importance as a determinant of lactation performance. A number of socioeconomic factors were significantly associated with the nutritional state of the toddlers: caste; per capita income and household income; family size; housing and sanitation; mother's weight. Female children had worse nutrition than males.