Impact of food price inflation on malnutrition in under five aged children in Bangladesh

Abstract

Abstract Background Currently, food price inflation is a widespread issue in Bangladesh as well as the rest of the world. Malnutrition is a common issue among children that can have long-lasting effects on their development and overall health. We aimed to determine the relationship between food price inflation and malnutrition in children under five years of age in Bangladesh. Method The study utilized food price data from the World Food Programme database and malnutrition (stunting) information from the 2014 and 2017-18 Bangladesh Demographic Health Surveys. Food prices were linked to the BDHS dataset using each child's birth month. For each child, the average food prices from 9 months prior to 5 months post-birth, including their birth month, were recorded to calculate month-to-month inflation. This inflation was computed for rice (coarse), oil, wheat flour, and lentils by comparing the price sum of each item from one month to the previous month and dividing by the total price of the preceding month. A generalized linear regression model was used to assess the relationship between food price inflation and stunting, with stunting as the dependent variable. Other explanatory variables included wealth index, child's gender, height, weight, mother's education, respondent's current pregnancy, and breastfeeding status. Results Our study has revealed that food price inflation has a significant negative impact on stunting, with a coefficient of -0.127 (p < 0.001). Furthermore, we have identified several other factors that have significant associations with malnutrition, including the wealth index (p < 0.001), mother's education level (p < 0.001), mother's pregnancy status (p < 0.001), breastfeeding (p < 0.001), child's age (p < 0.001), and child's weight (p < 0.001). However, we did not find any significant differences in malnutrition between boys and girls. Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that food price inflation has a significant negative impact on child malnutrition, and its impact must be considered alongside other contributing factors. Indeed, our results underscore the importance of recognizing food price inflation as a crucial determinant of malnutrition, along with various other factors.