Prevalence and factors associated with triple burden of malnutrition among mother-child pairs in India: a study based on National Family Health Survey 2015–16

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition in mothers as well as in children is a significant public health challenge in most of the developing countries. The triple burden of malnutrition is a relatively new issue on the horizon of health debate and is less explored among scholars widely. The present study examines the prevalence of the triple burden of malnutrition (TBM) and explored various factors associated with the TBM among mother-child pairs in India. METHODS: Data used in this study were drawn from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-IV) conducted in 2015–16 (N = 168,784). Bivariate and binary logistic regression analysis was used to quantify the results. About 5.7% of mother-child pairs were suffering from TBM. RESULTS: Age of mother, educational status of the mother, cesarean section delivery, birth size of baby, wealth status of a household, and place of residence were the most important correlates for the triple burden of malnutrition among mother-child pairs in India. Further, it was noted that mothers with secondary education level (AOR: 1.15, CI 1.08–1.23) were having a higher probability of suffering from TBM, and interestingly the probability shattered down for mothers having a higher educational level (AOR: 0.90, CI 0.84–0.95). Additionally, mother-child pairs from rich wealth status (AOR: 1.93, CI 1.8–2.07) had a higher probability of suffering from TBM. CONCLUSION: From the policy perspective, it is important to promote public health programs to create awareness about the harmful effects of sedentary lifestyles. At the same time, this study recommends an effective implementation of nutrition programs targeting undernutrition and anemia among children and obesity among women.