Comparison of household double burden of malnutrition among mother-child dyads in different settings in Maharashtra

Abstract

ABSTRACT The study aimed to assess and compare the household double burden of malnutrition among mother-child dyads in different settings in Maharashtra. A cross-sectional pilot survey was perforamed among 295 randomly selected mother-child dyads from 22 anganwadis. Urban households from three wards in Pune city, six villages from two tehsils in rural Pune, and ten villaages from the tribal district of Palghar were randomly selected. Distribution of wasting was ‘very-high’ (37.7%) in the tribal settings, followed by urban settings which recorded ‘high’ wasting (13.7%) as per the severity threshold. Over 37% of the children manifested overweight and obesity. Stunting was high in urban areas (49.3%), while underweight was high in the tribal regions (>55.7%). Overweight and obesity among mothers in the urban setting (82%) was twice compared to the rural (42%). The overall prevalence of double burden of malnutrition was 19.7%. The double burden of malnutrition at the household level was high (46%) in urban households followed by rural (17%) and tribal settings (5.7%). Double-duty strategies at the community level are the need of the hour to curb the rising double burden across settings.