Determinants of Malnutrition among Children in India

A. Dharmalingam, University of Waikato
T. Alesan, Kamaraj College

Child malnutrition has several social, economic and health consequences for the individuals, families and countries. In particular, malnutrition has a direct and strong connection with the incidence and spread of infectious diseases. In this paper we use data from the National Family Health Survey-II to first describe the patterns of malnutrition among children aged under three years in 15 major states of India. We then examine the major determinants of malnutrition. Our analysis will be guided by the theoretical framework on the causes of malnutrition developed by the UNICEF in 1990. The analysis will be carried out for each of the 15 major states. We will employ multilevel logistic regression models to analyze the causal relationships for India as a whole. Multilevel models are more appropriate for the complex sample design and also to estimate the variation in estimated parameters. The findings from this study will have direct policy implications.