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The timing of growth faltering has important implications for observational analyses of the underlying determinants of nutrition outcomes

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  • Harold Alderman
  • Derek Headey

Abstract

Background: Growth faltering largely occurs in the first 23 months after birth and is thought to be largely determined by various harmful or protective socioeconomic conditions. Children 23 months or younger, however, have only been partially exposed to these conditions, implying that statistical associations between these conditions and child growth may be substantially smaller in samples that include younger children. Objectives: To test the prediction that associations between child anthropometric outcomes and various socioeconomic conditions are systematically different for older and younger children. Methods: We analyzed data for 699,421 children aged 0–59 months, drawn from 125 DHS implemented between 1992 and 2014 in 57 countries. The outcome variables were height-for-age Z scores (HAZ) and stunting (HAZ

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  • Harold Alderman & Derek Headey, 2018. "The timing of growth faltering has important implications for observational analyses of the underlying determinants of nutrition outcomes," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(4), pages 1-16, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0195904
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195904
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    Cited by:

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    2. Derek Headey & Kalle Hirvonen & John Hoddinott, 2018. "Animal Sourced Foods and Child Stunting," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 100(5), pages 1302-1319.
    3. Nyqvist, Martina Björkman & Jayachandran, Seema & Zipfel, Céline, 2024. "A mother’s voice: Impacts of spousal communication training on child health investments," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
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    5. Voth-Gaeddert, Lee E. & Fikru, Mahelet G. & Oerther, Daniel B., 2022. "Limited benefits and high costs are associated with low monetary returns for Guatemalan household investment in water, sanitation, and hygiene technologies," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    6. Jesse K. Anttila-Hughes & Amir S. Jina & Gordon C. McCord, 2021. "ENSO impacts child undernutrition in the global tropics," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-8, December.
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    8. Martina Bjorkman Nyqvist & Seema Jayachandran & Celine Zipfel, 2023. "A Mother’s Voice: Impacts of Spousal Communication Training on Child Health Investments," Working Papers 306, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    9. Cummins, Joseph & Guo, Jingyan & Agarwal, Neha & Aiyar, Anaka & Jain, Vaishali & Bergmann, Andrew, 2024. "Caste Differences in Child Growth: Disentangling Endowment and Investment Effects," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    10. Thiede, Brian C. & Gray, Clark, 2020. "Climate exposures and child undernutrition: Evidence from Indonesia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    11. Derek Headey & Marie Ruel, 2023. "Food inflation and child undernutrition in low and middle income countries," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    12. Genova, Christian & Umberger, Wendy J. & Peralta-Sanchez, Maria-Alexandra & Newman, Suzie & Zeng, Di, 2021. "The Impact of Smallholder Vegetable Production on Rural Vietnamese Children’s Nutrition Outcomes," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315293, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. Ameye, Hannah & De Weerdt, Joachim, 2020. "Child health across the rural–urban spectrum," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    14. Hannah Ameye, 2023. "Dietary quality in rural areas, secondary towns, and cities: Insights from Tanzania," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(6), pages 1563-1584, December.
    15. Martina Bjorkman Nyqvist & Seema Jayachandran & Celine Zipfel, 2023. "A Mother’s Voice: Impacts of Spousal Communication Training on Child Health Investments," Working Papers 2023-11, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    16. Skoufias,Emmanuel & Vinha,Katja Pauliina, 2020. "Child Stature, Maternal Education, and Early Childhood Development," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9396, The World Bank.
    17. Martina Bjorkman Nyqvist & Seema Jayachandran & Celine Zipfel, 2023. "A Mother’s Voice: Impacts of Spousal Communication Training on Child Health Investments," Working Papers 306, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    18. Daniel Ayalew Mekonnen, 2024. "Does household’s food and nutrient acquisition capacity predict linear growth in children? Analysis of longitudinal data from rural and small towns in Ethiopia," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 16(2), pages 533-550, April.
    19. Julia A. Behrman, 2020. "Mother’s Relative Educational Status and Early Childhood Height-for-Age z Scores: A Decomposition of Change Over Time," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 39(1), pages 147-173, February.
    20. Derek D. Headey & Marie T. Ruel, 2022. "Economic shocks predict increases in child wasting prevalence," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    21. Olutayo Adeyemi & Mariama Toure & Namukolo Covic & Mara Bold & Nicholas Nisbett & Derek Headey, 2022. "Understanding drivers of stunting reduction in Nigeria from 2003 to 2018: a regression analysis," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(4), pages 995-1011, August.

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