Introduction The paradoxical phenomenon of the coexistence of overweight and underweight individuals in the same household, referred to as the “dual burden of malnutrition”, is a growing nutrition dilemma in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Aims The objectives of this study were (i) to examine the extent of the dual burden of malnutrition across different provinces in Indonesia and (ii) to determine how gender, community social capital, place of residency and other socio-economic factors affect the prevalence of the dual burden of malnutrition. Methods The current study utilized data from the fourth wave of the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) conducted between November 2007 and April 2008. The dataset contains information from 12,048 households and 45,306 individuals of all ages. This study focused on households with individuals over two years old. To account for the multilevel nature of the data, a multilevel multiple logistic regression was conducted. Results Approximately one-fifth of all households in Indonesia exhibited the dual burden of malnutrition, which was more prevalent among male-headed households, households with a high Socio-economic status (SES), and households in urban areas. Minimal variation in the dual burden of malnutrition was explained by the community level differences (<4%). Living in households with a higher SES resulted in higher odds of the dual burden of malnutrition but not among female-headed households and communities with the highest social capital. Conclusion To improve household health and reduce the inequality across different SES groups, this study emphasizes the inclusion of women's empowerment and community social capital into intervention programs addressing the dual burden of malnutrition.
Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Division of Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden;Umeå Centre for Global Health Research, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden;Umeå Centre for Gender Studies, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden;Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Division of Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden;Umeå Centre for Global Health Research, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden;Umeå Centre for Gender Studies, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden;Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Division of Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden;Umeå Centre for Global Health Research, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden;Centre for Health and Nutrition Research Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia;Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Division of Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden;Umeå Centre for Global Health Research, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden;Centre for Environmental Studies, Faculty of Medicine, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia;Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Division of Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden;Umeå Centre for Global Health Research, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Recommended Citation:
Masoud Vaezghasemi,Ann Öhman,Malin Eriksson,et al. The Effect of Gender and Social Capital on the Dual Burden of Malnutrition: A Multilevel Study in Indonesia[J]. PLOS ONE,2014-01-01,9(8)