The Socioeconomics of Fish Consumption and Child Health in Bangladesh
Child malnutrition in Bangladesh exceeds WHO's threshold for public health emergencies. Using more than 36,000 records from several waves of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, the research focuses on the socioeconomic determinants o...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/134031507898111415/The-socioeconomics-of-fish-consumption-and-child-health-in-Bangladesh http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28552 |
| Summary: | Child malnutrition in Bangladesh exceeds
WHO's threshold for public health emergencies. Using
more than 36,000 records from several waves of the
Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, the research
focuses on the socioeconomic determinants of household
consumption of all animal-source foods; the socioeconomic
determinants of fish consumption, given its importance in
the Bangladeshi diet; and the impact of observed consumption
patterns on mortality and resistance to infectious diseases
for children in their first years of life. Better maternal
education and family economic status significantly increase
the level of animal-source food intake, but they decrease
the consumption share of fish. This suggests that increased
income and education impart a "status bias" toward
eggs and meat, even though they are more expensive and less
beneficial than fish for child health. In addition,
mothers' individual preferences for different
animal-source foods, and the seasonal availability of fish
during the pre- and post-partum periods have large effects
on child mortality and significant effects on resistance to
several common childhood illnesses. These findings highlight
the importance of programs to increase supply of fish,
maternal nutrition education and more public health programs
to promote fish consumption. |
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