FCND DP No. 148 FCND DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 148 STUNTED CHILD-OVERWEIGHT MOTHER PAIRS AN EMER.pdfVIP

FCND DP No. 148 FCND DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 148 Food Consumption and Nutrition Division International Food Policy Research Institute 2033 K Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006 U.S.A. (202) 862?5600 Fax: (202) 467?4439 April 2003 FCND Discussion Papers contain preliminary material and research results, and are circulated prior to a full peer review in order to stimulate discussion and critical comment. It is expected that most Discussion Papers will eventually be published in some other form, and that their content may also be revised. STUNTED CHILD-OVERWEIGHT MOTHER PAIRS: AN EMERGING POLICY CONCERN? James L. Garrett and Marie T. Ruel ii Abstract Objective: This paper explores the global prevalence of an emerging phenomenon?the coexistence of a stunted child and an overweight mother in the same household. It also tests whether this phenomenon is associated with a country?s level of economic development and urbanization. Policy directions for public nutrition are highlighted. Design: Data from 36 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) were used (23 in Africa, 8 in Latin America, and 5 in Asia). Stunting was defined as height-for-age - 2 SD of the reference population and maternal overweight as a body mass index (BMI) of 25 kg/m2. World Bank and United Nations figures were used for GNP per capita (our indicator of economic development) and for level of urbanization, respectively. Descriptive statistics were derived, and regression analysis was used to model the association between economic development, urbanization, and the prevalence of stunted children and overweight women (SCOWT). Results and conclusions: The prevalence of SCOWT is generally below 10 percent, except in four countries, of which three are in Latin America. Among our sample of countries, SCOWT is generally more prevalent in Latin America than in Africa, and is below 5 percent in all five Asian co