Can shorter mothers have taller children? Nutritional mobility, health equity and the intergenerational transmission of relative height

Abstract

This study develops the concept of nutritional mobility, defined here as the probability that a mother ranked low in her cohort's height distribution will have a child who attains a higher rank order. We demonstrate that rank-order regression provides a robust metric of health equity, revealing differences in opportunities for each child to reach their own growth potential. We estimate four indicators of nutritional mobility and test for associations between nutritional mobility and various local economic and environmental factors. Nutritional mobility has improved over time, and the nutrition environment contributes about 2.86 times as much as a mother's height to her child's expected rank in height-forage. Populations with the least mobility are in Latin America, and the more urbanized areas of Africa and Asia have the most mobility. The results offer valuable insights into the role of socioecological factors in nutrition improvement across generations.

Food Coping Strategies dan Aplikasi Pemantau Status Gizi Sebagai Upaya Preventif Stunting

“…Sedangkan untuk tinggi badan anak diperoleh dari interaksi dengan faktor nutrisi. Nutrisi berkontribusi sebesar 2.86 kali lebih banyak dari kontribusi gen yang diwariskan ibu 15 . Artinya dengan memperbaiki asupan nutrisi anak, maka anak akan mampu tumbuh tinggi meskipun memiliki ibu pendek.…”

A novel development indicator based on population-average height trajectories of children aged 0–5 years modelled using 145 surveys in 64 countries, 2000–2018

“…13 Stunting is a population-level statistical indicator of children's social and economic deprivation and does not equate to malnutrition as commonly used in nutritional and epidemiological studies of child health and public health programmes. [15][16][17][18] In addition, binary indicators, such as stunting, are more likely to be affected by the quality of anthropometric measurements which can vary within and between surveys. 19 20 We hypothesise that Super-Imposition by Translation And Rotation (SITAR) random parameters convey between-country variations in linear growth in more detail than what is captured by conventional crosssectional indicators such as under-5 stunting prevalence.…”