Understanding women’s nutritional status in urban India: a comparative study of slum versus non slum dwellers

Kaushlendra Kumar, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
R. K. Sinha, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

The present research work investigates the nutritional status of women residing in urban slums/non-slums areas (mainly in eight metro cities of India) by using data from the nationally representative National Family Health Survey III, conducted during 2005-06. Bi-variate and multivariate analyses are carried out to fulfill the objectives of the study. Body Mass Index (BMI) is used to measure the nutritional status of women aged 15-49 years. Result shows that 20 percent of women are undernourished in slum areas while only 15 percent are undernourished in non-slum areas. The findings also suggest that among higher educated women, 16 percent residing in slums are undernourished while only 10 percent are found undernourished in non-slums areas. Further, 16 percent of women belonging to the richest quintile are undernourished in slums while only 12 percent are found undernourished in non-slums. In addition to BMI, level of anaemia is also considered to assess the nutritional status of women.