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The declining trend of Double and Triple Burden of Malnutrition among preschool children in India - A decomposition analysis

Mayura Tonpe, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)
Priyanka Dixit, TISS

Malnutrition a public health concern is affecting millions of children worldwide. In India, the prevalence of Double (DBM) and Triple Burden of Malnutrition (TBM) have projected a positive decline between National Family Health Survey – 3 (NFHS - 3), 2005-06 and NFHS – 4, 2015-16. But this prevalence is still higher when compared to global targets. This paper aims to examine socio-demographic factors associated with a decline in DBM and TBM among preschool children. Decomposition analysis was used to decompose factors responsible into composition, propensity or interaction components over a period of 10 years. Results showed that major components responsible for decline in DBM and TBM are composition and propensity, which accounted for about 70 percent and 57 percent of the overall change respectively. The decline in DBM was mainly explained by a compositional change in the level of maternal education, whereas the change in the structure of preceding birth interval impacted the propensity towards TBM. Identification of such factors and understanding their relationship can be beneficial to reorient the nutrition-specific policies in view of achieving targets of Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Keywords: Decomposition analysis/methods, Methodology, Children and youth, Demographic and social surveys

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  Presented in Session 3. Undernutrition Among Children and Adolescents in India: From Micro- to Macro-Level Variations