Original Research Article
Year: 2019 | Month: September | Volume: 9 | Issue: 9 | Pages: 183-193
Decomposing Socio-Economic Inequalities in Nutritional Status among Siblings in High and Low Fertility States of India
Tarique Anwar1, Paramita Debnath2, Balhasan Ali3
1PhD. Scholar, Department of Mathematical Demography & Statistics, International Institute for Population Studies, Mumbai, 400088, India,
2PhD. Scholar, Department of Fertility studies, International Institute for Population Studies, Mumbai, 400088, India,
3PhD. Scholar, Department of Mathematical Demography & Statistics, International Institute for Population Studies, Mumbai, 400088, India,
Corresponding Author: Paramita Debnath
ABSTRACT
Child malnutrition is a persistent global health problem with significant consequences on infant and young child mortality, morbidity, and reduced life span. In India, over-population and poverty are continual and causing population vulnerability, particularly malnutrition among women and children. Poor diet and infectious diseases interact to cause growth failure in children, physiological damage, especially of the immune system. Using secondary data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), this study quantifies the extent of the relative contribution of socio-economic factors to the inequality in stunting, wasting, and underweight in India. This study applied Wagstaff decomposition analysis, and CI estimates to quantify the extent of inequality. The findings show that the rate of stunting and underweight is increasing with the increase in age and birth order. However, child malnutrition is decreasing with the mother's educational status, higher utilization of maternal health services, and mother's BMI more than 24.9.Further, CI estimates show a substantial inequality in stunting (CI=-0.156), wasting (CI=-0.060), and underweight (CI=0.160) in India, which is pro-poor inequality concentrated among the poor. The findings of decomposition analysis reveal that mothers with secondary and higher education, BMI of (18.5-24.9), and high utilization of maternal health services were contributing more to the inequality in child malnutrition. This study suggests that promotion of nutrients rich food intake is essential for children at an early age to attain their developmental potential and along with improvement in mother's education and health as it has a substantial contribution in child health.
Key words: Stunting, Wasting, Underweight, Inequality, Decomposition, India.