Association of Maternal Education With Nutritional Outcomes of Poor Children With Stunting in Indonesia

Abstract

The consequences of poverty and food insecurity can indirectly contribute to obesity. Long-term effect of stunting children may be the risk factor for overweight and obesity in the poor in Indonesia. The role of parental education is also associated with overweight and obesity in children. This study wanted to see the risk of stunted children becoming overweight and obese based on maternal education among poor people in Indonesia. This study involved three cohorts design. Cohort 1 is a 14-year cohort, and two 7-year cohorts for cohorts 2 and 3. We used secondary longitudinal data from Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) 3 (2000), IFLS 4 (2007), and IFLS 5 (2014). After stratification by high maternal education and economic status of the family, there is an increased risk of stunting children becoming overweight and obese, with a risk ratio of 2 in cohort 1 and 1.69 in cohort 2. These results show that stunted children with high-education mothers and stay lived in the low-income family have a 1.69 to 2 times higher risk of becoming overweight and obese. This result shows the importance of primary education and health education for women to increase children’s health in the future.

Understanding Pediatric Health Trends in Papua: Insights From SUSENAS, RISKESDAS, Remote Sensing, and Its Relevance to Prabowo and Gibran’s Free Lunch and Milk Program

“…The prevalence of stunting in Indonesia is often linked to insufficient access to nutritious food during the crucial early years of a child's life. Despite progress, there's a need for comprehensive strategies addressing the root causes of stunting, including improving maternal nutrition, promoting exclusive breastfeeding, and enhancing access to diverse and nutritious diets for children [13], [14], [15], [16].…”