Association between socioeconomic status of mothers, food security, food safety practices and the double burden of malnutrition in the Lalitpur district, Nepal.
BACKGROUND
The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity is increasing in low-and middle income countries such as Nepal. At the same time, high prevalence of chronic undernutrition persists leading to a double burden of malnutrition.


OBJECTIVE
To identify associations between the socioeconomic status of mothers, food security, the food safety environment within the household, and prevalence of stunting and overweight of the children.


METHODS
Statistical analysis of socioeconomic, food safety-related and anthropometric data from 289 mother-child dyads in an urban area of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.


RESULTS
According to WHO standards, 26 % of the children, aged 0-59 months, were stunted, 10 % were underweight, and 6.6 % were either overweight or obese. Significantly more boys than girls were underweight (p = 0.004) and stunted (p < 0.001). The higher education level of mothers was associated with a higher height-for-age (HAZ) score in girls, but not with HAZ in boys. Irrespective of sex, children of mothers with highest education level had significantly lower BMI-for-age scores (BAZ) than those of mothers with low education levels. None of the food safety indicators were associated with either HAZ or the BAZ.


CONCLUSIONS
The education level of mothers seems to be relevant to help reduce the double burden of malnutrition at least in some regions of Nepal. This should be taken into consideration when designing programmes to prevent both chronic undernutrition and non-communicable diseases.
Global Nutrition and Health, Metropolitan University College, Pustervig 8, 1126 København K, Denmark ; Nutrition Promotion and Consultancy Services (NPCS), NGO, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Mahesh
M
Sarki
Global Nutrition and Health, Metropolitan University College, Pustervig 8, 1126 København K, Denmark ; WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Nutrition and Health, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Aileen
A
Robertson
Global Nutrition and Health, Metropolitan University College, Pustervig 8, 1126 København K, Denmark ; WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Nutrition and Health, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Alexandr
0000-0002-8973-3467
A
Parlesak
Childhood obesity; Childhood overweight; Food safety; Stunting; Women’s education