Factors Associated with Stunting, Underweight, and Wasting Among Children Under Five in Bangladesh: Evidence from the MICS 2025 Survey
- 1Colorado State University
Abstract
BackgroundChildhood malnutrition remains a major public health concern in Bangladesh despite two decades of progress. Using the latest nationally representative data from Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2025, this study assesses the prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting among children under five and examines their association with child, maternal, household, and regional characteristics.
MethodsWe analyzed data on 21,736 children under five years of age from MICS 2025. Rao-Scott chi-squared tests and survey-weighted multivariable logistic regression were used to examine associations between socio-demographic factors and each malnutrition outcome.
ResultsWeighted prevalence was 24% for stunting, 23% for underweight, and 13% for wasting. Stunting peaked at 12-35 months (AOR = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.82-2.50 for 12-23 months), whereas underweight was highest at 48-59 months (AOR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.60-2.22). Girls had lower odds than boys of stunting (AOR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.85-0.99), underweight (AOR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.86-1.00), and wasting (AOR = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.76-0.92). Children from the richest households had substantially lower odds of stunting (AOR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.41-0.56), underweight (AOR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.42-0.58), and wasting (AOR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.59-0.86). Maternal higher secondary education or above was protective against stunting (AOR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.47-0.69) and underweight (AOR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.51-0.76). Children in Sylhet had higher odds of stunting (AOR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.15-1.64) and underweight (AOR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.18-1.67) than those in Barishal.
ConclusionsHousehold wealth, children sex and birth order, maternal education, and geographic division are the main correlates of child malnutrition in Bangladesh. Equity-focused, region-specific interventions and continued national surveillance are needed to accelerate progress toward SDG 2.2.
Related
- Stunting among Under‐Five Children in Semarang Regency: Evidence from a Case–Control Study on Maternal KAP, Sanitation, and Early Feeding
- Prenatal And Postnatal Risk Factors Associated with Stunting in Children Aged 0-24 Months Banyumas Regency Indonesia
- Geography of child stunting and wasting in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional spatial analysis of the 2025 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey
- National Prevalence and Determinants of Concurrent Wasting and Stunting among Under-Five Children in Yemen: Evidence from the 2022-2023 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey
- Risk factors for acute gastrointestinal injury after cardiac surgery in underweight children with congenital heart disease: a single-center retrospective study
BibTeX
@misc{oshan2026factors,
title = {{Factors Associated with Stunting, Underweight, and Wasting Among Children Under Five in Bangladesh: Evidence from the MICS 2025 Survey}},
author = {Y. A. Oshan and K. Khatun},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.21.26366175},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.21.26366175v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Factors Associated with Stunting, Underweight, and Wasting Among Children Under Five in Bangladesh: Evidence from the MICS 2025 Survey
AU - Y. A. Oshan
AU - K. Khatun
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.21.26366175
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.21.26366175v1
AB - BackgroundChildhood malnutrition remains a major public health concern in Bangladesh despite two decades of progress. Using the latest nationally representative data from Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2025, this study assesses the prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting among children under five and examines their association with child, maternal, household, and regional characteristics. MethodsWe analyzed data on 21,736 children under five years of age from MICS 2025. Rao-Scott chi-squared tests and survey-weighted multivariable logistic regression were used to examine associations between socio-demographic factors and each malnutrition outcome. ResultsWeighted prevalence was 24% for stunting, 23% for underweight, and 13% for wasting. Stunting peaked at 12-35 months (AOR = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.82-2.50 for 12-23 months), whereas underweight was highest at 48-59 months (AOR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.60-2.22). Girls had lower odds than boys of stunting (AOR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.85-0.99), underweight (AOR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.86-1.00), and wasting (AOR = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.76-0.92). Children from the richest households had substantially lower odds of stunting (AOR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.41-0.56), underweight (AOR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.42-0.58), and wasting (AOR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.59-0.86). Maternal higher secondary education or above was protective against stunting (AOR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.47-0.69) and underweight (AOR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.51-0.76). Children in Sylhet had higher odds of stunting (AOR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.15-1.64) and underweight (AOR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.18-1.67) than those in Barishal. ConclusionsHousehold wealth, children sex and birth order, maternal education, and geographic division are the main correlates of child malnutrition in Bangladesh. Equity-focused, region-specific interventions and continued national surveillance are needed to accelerate progress toward SDG 2.2.
ER -