Socioeconomic Factors Influencing Nutritional Status of Under-five Children of Agrarian Families in Bangladesh: a Multilevel Analysis

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 differential impact of some demographic, socioeconomic, environmental and health related factors on nutritional status among under five children in Bangladesh whose fathers' occupation was agriculture. The study used Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2007 data. Bivariate analysis, multivariate analysis (Cox's linear logistic regression model) and two-level random intercept binary logistic regression analysis were used to identify the determinants of under-five malnutrition. The analyses revealed that 19.6 percent of the children were severely stunted, 29.4 percent were moderately stunted and 51 percent were not stunted. This study also found that 3.5 percent of the children were severely wasted, 16.5 percent were moderately wasted and 80 percent were not wasted. Furthermore, the analyses revealed that 14.5 percent of the children were severely underweight, 32.5 percent were moderately underweight and 53 percent children were not underweight. The main contributing factors for under five malnutrition were found to be child's age, birth order, mother's education, father's education, family wealth index, sanitation facility, place of delivery, place of residence and division. Community level variations were found significant for wasting only in the analyses.