Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jul 26;11(8):902.
doi: 10.3390/children11080902.

Decoding India's Child Malnutrition Puzzle: A Multivariable Analysis Using a Composite Index

Gulzar Shah  1 , Maryam Siddiqa  2 , Padmini Shankar  3 , Indira Karibayeva  1 , Amber Zubair  2 , Bushra Shah  1
Affiliations

Decoding India's Child Malnutrition Puzzle: A Multivariable Analysis Using a Composite Index

Gulzar Shah et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: This study examines the levels and predictors of malnutrition in Indian children under 5 years of age.

Methods: Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure was applied to data from the India National Family Health Survey 2019-2021. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to assess the predictors.

Results: 52.59% of children experienced anthropometric failure. Child predictors of lower malnutrition risk included female gender (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.881) and average or large size at birth (AOR = 0.729 and 0.715, respectively, compared to small size). Higher birth order increased malnutrition odds (2nd-4th: AOR = 1.211; 5th or higher: AOR = 1.449) compared to firstborn. Maternal predictors of lower malnutrition risk included age 20-34 years (AOR = 0.806), age 35-49 years (AOR = 0.714) compared to 15-19 years, normal BMI (AOR = 0.752), overweight and obese BMI (AOR = 0.504) compared to underweight, and secondary or higher education vs. no education (AOR = 0.865). Maternal predictors of higher malnutrition risk included severe anemia vs. no anemia (AOR = 1.232). Protective socioeconomic factors included middle (AOR = 0.903) and rich wealth index (AOR = 0.717) compared to poor, and toilet access (AOR = 0.803). Children's malnutrition risk also declined with paternal education (primary: AOR = 0.901; secondary or higher: AOR = 0.822) vs. no education. Conversely, malnutrition risk increased with Hindu (AOR = 1.258) or Islam religion (AOR = 1.369) vs. other religions.

Conclusions: Child malnutrition remains a critical issue in India, necessitating concerted efforts from both private and public sectors. A 'Health in All Policies' approach should guide public health leadership in influencing policies that impact children's nutritional status.

Keywords: India; children; composite index of anthropometric failure; malnutrition; social determinants; stunting; underweight; wasting.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Receiver operating curve of CIAF model.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. UNICEF Global Hunger Crisis Pushing One Child into Severe Malnutrition Every Minute in 15 Crisis-Hit Countries. [(accessed on 1 March 2024)]. Available online: https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/global-hunger-crisis-pushing-one-c....
    1. Locks L.M., Shah M., Bhaise S., Hibberd P.L., Patel A. Assessing the Diets of Young Children and Adolescents in India: Challenges and Opportunities. Front. Pediatr. 2022;10:725812. doi: 10.3389/fped.2022.725812. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Singh S., Srivastava S., Upadhyay A.K. Socio-Economic Inequality in Malnutrition among Children in India: An Analysis of 640 Districts from National Family Health Survey (2015–16) Int. J. Equity Health. 2019;18:203. doi: 10.1186/s12939-019-1093-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Murarkar S., Gothankar J., Doke P., Pore P., Lalwani S., Dhumale G., Quraishi S., Patil R., Waghachavare V., Dhobale R., et al. Prevalence and Determinants of Undernutrition among Under-Five Children Residing in Urban Slums and Rural Area, Maharashtra, India: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study. BMC Public. Health. 2020;20:1559. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-09642-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ramachandran P. Combating Triple Burden of Malnutrition in Children. Indian. Pediatr. 2019;56:821–822. doi: 10.1007/s13312-019-1605-4. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources