Presence of Elderly and Child Nutritional Status in India: Evidence of recent NFHS-5

Vandana Pundalik Patil, Youth for Self and Social Change
Praveen Chokhandre

Recent rounds of NFHS have shown marginal changes in the children's nutritional status, especially from NFHS-4 to NFHS-5. The objective is to understand the relationship between household structure and child nutritional outcomes and the associated factors. The recent round of the DHS-NFHS (2019–21) to analyze children's nutritional-status and its association with household structure, including size, number of children, and presence of grandparents. A series of logistic regression models were used to examine this association. Findings suggest that children's nutritional status was relatively better in the households where parents and grandparents co-resided. A significantly higher prevalence of stunting (40%) and underweight (38%) was observed for households without grandparents. Results suggest that children in households with 7+ members, households having 3+ children, and children living in a household with no grandparents were more likely to be stunted. Similar is the case for underweight i.e. child living in a household of 7+ members, a household having 3+ children, and a child living in a household with no grandparents are more likely to be underweight. In conclusion, family structure was significantly associated with child health and well-being, as it influences various aspects of caregiving practices, resource allocation, and access to essential services.

Keywords: Families, Unions and Households

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