Nutritional status of under-five children in Bangladesh: a multilevel analysis
Alom, J.; Quddus, M.A.; Islam, M.A.
Journal of Biosocial Science 44(5): 525-535
2012
ISSN/ISBN: 1469-7599 PMID: 22716955 DOI: 10.1017/s0021932012000181Document Number: 576957
The nutritional status of under-five children is a sensitive sign of a country's health status as well as economic condition. This study investigated the differential impact of some demographic, socioeconomic, environmental and health-related factors on the nutritional status among under-five children in Bangladesh using Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2007 data. Two-level random intercept binary logistic regression models were used to identify the determinants of under-five malnutrition. The analyses revealed that 16% of the children were severely stunted and 25% were moderately stunted. Among the children under five years of age 3% were severely wasted and 14% were moderately wasted. Furthermore, 11% of the children were severely underweight and 28% were moderately underweight. The main contributing factors for under-five malnutrition were found to be child's age, mother's education, father's education, father's occupation, family wealth index, currently breast-feeding, place of delivery and division. Significant community-level variations were found in the analyses.