Gender inequality in nutritional status among under five children in a village in Hooghly district, West Bengal.

ABSTRACT

A community based, cross-sectional study was conducted in the Mollasimla village of Hooghly district of West Bengal, to examine the differences in nutritional status of under-five males and females and to determine the different bio-social factors associated with such differences. It was found that 55.9%, 51.4% and 42.3% of the girls were underweight, stunted and wasted respectively compared to 46.6%, 40.5% and 35.3% of the boys and a significantly higher proportion of malnutrition was found to be present among female children of higher birth order and those belonging to families with lower per capita income compared to the males.