UNU-WIDER Women’s Status and Children’s Food Security in Nepal

This paper focuses on gender aspects upon children’s food security. Using data from the 1995/1996 Nepal Living Standards Survey, this study attempts to find evidence to whether children are heavier for their age, taller for their age or heavier for their height in families where mother’s intra-family status is relatively better. The relationship between mother’s intra-family status and children’s food security was analyzed with a linear model, where on the left hand side are children’s anthropometric z-scores and on the right hand side women’s status indicators and other factors affecting children’s food security. The test received significant positive evidence for the mother’s knowledge upon birth controlling, mother’s age at childbirth and the inter-spousal education difference. The boy preference shows in the results.