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NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF UNDER-FIVE CHILDREN IN BANGLADESH: A MULTILEVEL ANALYSIS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2012

JAHANGIR ALOM
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Statistics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh
MD. ABDUL QUDDUS
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Statistics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh
MOHAMMAD AMIRUL ISLAM
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Statistics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh

Summary

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.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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