Factors affecting stunting among 3–12 years old girls of Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India
Factors affecting stunting among 3–12 years old girls of Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India

Summary/Abstract: Stunting is the impaired growth and development in children caused due to poor nutrition,recurrent infections and lack of psychosocial stimulus. Because stunting affects physical development andinhibits the child from attaining his full cognitive development as an adult, children may never regain theheight lost due to stunting. Stunting (Low height-for-age) in infants and young children is a simple, well-known indicator of undernutrition. The current study sought to determine the effects of socio-economicand demographic factors on the frequency of stunting among Bengalee girls. The study was carried out inthe Deshopran block and Haldia municipality area (West Bengal, India). The total number of participantsincluded in the study was 530 Bengalee girls. 53.39% (283) of study participants were urban residentswhile 46.61% (247) were rural residents. Stunted growth in children was defined as the height for a givenage in children less than two standard deviations of the WHO Child Growth Standards. The prevalence ofstunting among girls in our study was 11.13%. The predictor variables with substantial associations withstunting in the binary logistic regression (BLR) analyses were further used in the multiple binary logisticregression (MBLR) analyses. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were used to calculate the stuntingrisk. Results showed that the risk of stunting was significantly associated with low birth weight, presenceof younger brothers, a large number of family members and place of delivery. Improving maternal and childaccess to nutrient-rich food, decreasing infectious disease, and promoting women empowerment initiativesare the main recommendations for resolving the issue.

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