Socioeconomic disparities and the familial coexistence of child stunting and maternal overweight in guatemala

Abstract

The double burden of malnutrition, defined here as households with a stunted child and an overweight mother (SCOM), is a growing problem in Guatemala. We explored the magnitude of SCOM and the identification of socio-economic factors associated with this malnutrition duality. From the 2000 Living Standards Measurement Study from Guatemala, we obtained a sample of 2492 households with pairs of children 6–60 months and their mothers (18–49 years) and estimated the prevalence of SCOM. Economic characteristics of this sample were assessed with the Concentration Index (CI). Results revealed higher prevalence of child stunting, but a lower prevalence of maternal overweight among the poor compared to the rich households. Economic inequality in child stunting was greater than economic inequality in maternal overweight (CI = −0.22 vs. +0.14). SCOM pairs were more prevalent among the poor and middle SES groups as compared to the rich households. A multivariate logistic regression model showed that SCOM was more likely to occur in households from the middle consumption quintile than in those from the first quintile (odds ratio = 1.7). The findings reported here add new insights into the complex phenomenon observed in households with both extremes of the malnutrition continuum, and support the need for the identification of economic, social and biological interventions aimed at, on the one hand, the prevention of this duality of the malnutrition in those households where it is still non-existent, and on the other hand, to deter or correct the economic, social and biological environments where those mother-child dyads are already affected by such phenomena.

Understanding the double burden of malnutrition in food insecure households in Brazil

“…The results of this study show that the coexistence of child undernutrition and maternal overweight (characterized here as DBM) in the same household in Brazil is not as frequent as in other countries (Lee et al, ; Freire et al, ; Sarmiento et al, ). This low prevalence of DBM was found in a previous study and was expected given the very advanced stage of the nutrition transition in Brazil, where women are experiencing weight gain from one generation to the next that exceeds the height gain rate (Conde & Monteiro, ).…”

“…Even after controlling for covariates related to DBM, severe HFI remained as the main factor associated with DBM. Previous studies showed an association between economic variables and the existence of DBM (Lee et al, ), but the association between DBM and food insecurity had not been explored in previous studies emphasizing the innovative nature of our findings.…”

A Double Burden of Overall or Central Adiposity and Anemia or Iron Deficiency Is Prevalent but with Little Socioeconomic Patterning among Moroccan and Tunisian Urban Women

“…stunted child together with obese adults or with his/her overweight mother (13)(14)(15)(16). However, concerning undernutrition, beyond a global improvement in underweight (6), it has become apparent that several micronutrient deficiencies have not been successfully addressed until now in many LMICs, in particular iron deficiency (ID), one of the most common nutritional deficiencies in the world (17).…”

Factors associated with nutritional outcomes in the mother–child dyad: a population-based cross-sectional study

“…High prevalence of the double burden of malnutrition has been increasing in middle-and low-income countries (13) . In Guatemala, Argentina and Africa it has been shown that underweight or short stature of the child can coexist with maternal overweight (14)(15)(16) .…”