Levels and differentials in child nutritional status and morbidity in a rural area of Bangladesh

Abstract

This study investigates the levels and differentials in child nutritional status and morbidity in five villages of Bangladesh. Data for this study came from surveys conducted in 1981. Anthropometric measurements of weight, height, and arm circumference are used to assess child nutritional status. Morbidity information is retrospective, covering the thirty days preceding the survey. Differentials in child nutritional status and morbidity have been examined for different household characteristics and sex of the children. Malnutrition was highly prevalent among the children of the study villages. As regards morbidity, 65% of the children had some sort of illnesses in the week preceeding the survey. Differentials in child nutritional status for most of the household characteristics were found to exist, but for morbidity no such relationship was observed. The adverse effect of illness during the week preceding the survey on nutritional status was also found. The nutritional status of the children coming from lower status households was relatively more affected by illness episodes in the week prior to the survey. With regard to sex differentials, girls were found to be relatively more malnourished than boys, and the difference increased as the status of the household increased.