Nutritional Status and Determinants of Undernutrition among Under-Five Children in Migrant Populations of Ahmedabad, India: A Community based Cross-Sectional Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51957/Healthline_846_2026Keywords:
Food Insecurity, Malnutrition, MigrantAbstract
Introduction: India is one of the largest contributors of child undernutrition globally. A complex relationship exists between migration and undernutrition. Objectives: 1. To assess the nutritional status of under 5 migrant children in Ahmedabad. 2. To find out the determinants of undernutrition among migrant children. Method: A crosssectional study was conducted among 668 children (6-59 months) of migrant workers in 171 identified migrant settlements of Ahmedabad. Sampling was done proportionate to population size (PPS) of under 5 migrant children in 7 purposively selected Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHCs) of Ahmedabad. Primary data included anthropometric measurements of children & interviews of primary caregivers. Predictors of undernutrition were determined using logistic regression models. Results: The overall prevalence of undernutrition among under 5 migrant children was found to be 71.4%. The study found 300 (44.9%) participants to be underweight while stunting and wasting was present among 283 (42.4%) and 183 (27.4%) participants respectively. Food insecurity was found to be main predictor of wasting (AOR: 2.144, p<0.001) and being underweight (AOR: 2.386, p<0.001) while increased frequency of illness per year was major predictor for stunting (AOR: 1.745, p=0.003). Other important determinants were found to be age, birth weight, birth order, mother's working status, mother's education, socioeconomic status, type of migration, number of migrations, immunization, age-appropriate feeding and registration in anganwadi. Conclusion: Undernutrition among under 5 children was remarkably high among the migrant population. Multiple factors affect nutritional status of children with increase in frequency of illness and food insecurity being major predictors of undernutrition.
References
1. World Health Organization. Malnutrition [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2024 [cited 2025 Dec 04]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malnutrition
2. International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS). National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 2019-21: Final Compendium of Fact Sheets, India and 14 States/UTs (Phase-II) [Internet]. Mumbai: IIPS; 2021 [cited 2025 Dec 04]. Available from: http://rchiips.org/nfhs/NFHS-5_FCTS/
3. National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC). Gujarat Factsheet: NFHS-5 [Internet]. New Delhi: NHSRC; 2021 [cited 2025 Nov 20]. Available from: https://nhsrcindia.org/sites/default/files/practice_image/HealthDossier2021/Gujarat.pdf
4. Sahu SK, Kumar SG, Bhat BV, Premarajan KC, Sarkar S, Roy G, et al. Malnutrition among under-five children in India and strategies for control. J Nat Sci Biol Med [Internet]. 2015;6(1):18-23. doi: 10.4103/0976-9668.149072 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/0976-9668.149072
5. Swaminathan S, Hemalatha R, Pandey A, Kassebaum NJ, Laxmaiah A, Longvah T, et al. The burden of child and maternal malnutrition and trends in its indicators in the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990–2017. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2019 Dec;3(12):855–70. doi: 10.1016/S2352-4642(19)30273-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(19)30273-1
6. Roshania RP, Giri R, Cunningham SA, Young MF, Webb-Girard A, Das A, et al. Early life migration and undernutrition among circular migrant children: An observational study in the brick kilns of Bihar, India. J Glob Health. 2022;12:04008. doi: 10.7189/jogh.12.04008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.12.04008
7. Biswas T, Mandal PK, Biswas S. Assessment of health, nutrition and immunisation status amongst under-5 children in migratory brick kiln population of periurban Kolkata, India. Sudanese J Public Health. 2011;6(1):7-11. doi: 10.5555/20113214380
8. Bird K, Deshingkar P. Circular migration in India. London: Overseas Development Institute; 2009. (ODI Policy Brief No. 4). doi: 10.5319/ess.wpaper.id5319
9. Orjuela-Grimm M, Deschak C, Aragon Gama CA, Bhatt Carreño S, Hoyos L, Mundo V, et al. Migrants on the Move and Food (In)security: A Call for Research. J Immigr Minor Health. 2022;24(1):1-3. doi: 10.1007/s10903-021-01280-5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-021-01276-7
10. Migration Data Portal. Food Security & Human Mobility [Internet].[cited 2026 Jan 07]. Available from: https://www.migrationdataportal.org/food-security
11. United Nations Statistics Division. UN Task Force on Key Concepts and Definitions Related to International Migration: Terms of Reference [Internet]. New York: United Nations; 2021 [cited 2025 Dec 15]. Available from: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/migration-expert-group/task-forces/TOR_TF2_2019/2006-2021.pdf
12. Kusuma YS, Gupta SK, Pandav CS. Migration and hypertension: a cross-sectional study among neo-migrants and settled-migrants in Delhi, India. Asia Pac J Public Health. 2009 Oct;21(4):497-507. doi: 10.1177/1010539509344114. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1010539509344114
13. World Health Organization. The WHO child growth standards [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2006 [cited 2025 Oct 29]. Available from: https://www.who.int/tools/child-growth-standards
14. WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group. WHO Child Growth Standards based on length/height, weight and age. Acta Paediatr Suppl. 2006;450:76-85. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2006.tb02378.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1651-2227.2006.tb02378.x
15. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. Six-item short form of the food security survey module [Internet]. Washington (DC): U.S. Department of Agriculture; [cited 2025 Nov 10]. Available from: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/survey-tools#six
16. J AK, Mishra A, Borle AL. Updated B.G. Prasad Scale for Socioeconomic Status Classification for the Year 2024. Indian J Pediatr. 2024 Apr 23. doi: 10.1007/s12098-024-05114-1
17. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Immunization Handbook for Health Workers [Internet]. New Delhi: Government of India; 2018 [cited 2025 Dec 07]. Available from: https://nhm.gov.in/New_Updates_2018/NHM_Components/Immunization/Guildelines_for_immunization/Immunization_Handbook_for_Health_Workers-English.pdf
18. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. FAQ on Immunization for Health Workers [Internet]. New Delhi: Government of India; 2018 [cited 2026 Nov 17]. Available from: https://nhm.gov.in/New_Updates_2018/NHM_Components/Immunization/Guildelines_for_immunization/FAQ_on_Immunization_for_Health_Workers-English.pdf
19. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. One Day Sensitization Module: Infant and Young Child Feeding [Internet]. New Delhi: Government of India; 2016 [cited 2025 Nov 17]. Available from: https://nhm.gov.in/MAA/One_Day_Sensitization_Module/One_Day_Sensitization_Module_English_lowres.pdf
20. ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition. Dietary Guidelines for Indians [Internet]. Hyderabad: ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition; 2024 [cited 2025 Dec 25]. Available from: https://nin.res.in/dietaryguidelines2024.html
21. Singh A, Sundaram SP, Ningombam JD. Undernutrition and its determinants among under-five children in a tribal community of Meghalaya. J Family Med Prim Care. 2024 Jan;13(1):340-347. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1095_23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1095_23
22. Murarkar S, Singh A, Nayak S, Shinde R, Gupta SS, Kumar R, et al. Prevalence and determinants of undernutrition among under-five children residing in urban slums and rural areas, Maharashtra, India: a community-based cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2020 Oct 16;20(1):1559. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-09642-0. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09642-0
23. Kachhawala F, Patel V, Puwar B. Determinants of Under-Nutrition Among Under Five Children in The Urban Slum of Ahmedabad, India. Natl J Community Med. 2023 Mar 31;14(3):167-171. doi: 10.55489/njcm.140320232697. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55489/njcm.140320232697
24. Chakraborty M, Basu S, Jerath SG. Prevalence and determinants of undernutrition in under five children in urban slums of Tripura, India. Indian J Community Med. 2025;50(3):599-606. doi: 10.4103/ijcm.ijcm_497_24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/ijcm.ijcm_752_23
25. Patra M, Kumar Gayen B, Yasmin S, Sinha N, Baur B. Determinants of Undernutrition among Under-Five Children: A Community-Based Study from Eastern India. J Nutr Food Secur. 2024;9(3):439-448. doi: 10.18502/jnfs.v9i3.16235. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jnfs.v9i3.16153
26. International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS). National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 2019-21: India, Fact Sheet, Gujarat [Internet]. Mumbai: IIPS; 2021 [cited 2025 Dec 31]. Available from: https://data.opencity.in/dataset/530ee93a-d24c-43df-b90b-272a067d5a4e/resource/e2bf91ce-97a2-40e0-a5ae-355fef8d0bc9/download/gujarat-nhfs.pdf
27. Farooq U, Sharma SJ, Raghav S. Prevalence of under nutrition among under-5 children in the urban field practice area of a medical college in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2023 Feb;10(2):644-647. doi: 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20230113. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20230214
28. Garg SK, Singh JV, Bhatnagar M, Chopra H. Nutritional status of children in slums of Gaziabad. Indian J Community Med. 1997;22(2):70-73. doi: 10.4103/ijcm.ijcm_22_97 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/0970-0218.53605
Downloads
Published
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Sudhanshu Saurabh, Dr. Hothal Vegad, Dr. Aparajita Shukla (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Articles in "Healthline Journal" are Open Access articles. The license permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial purposes only, provided the original work and source is properly cited, and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.
How to Cite
