An economic investigation of the impact of maternal socio-economic factors on nutritional status of preschool children in Egypt

Abstract EN

In their earliest years children are usually controlled in their feeding by their mothers.

Consequently, maternal and some other related variables were examined in their influence on the nutritional status of the vulnerable group.

While it was found that maternal socio-economic factors affect a child's nutritional status, they differ between non-working mothers and working mothers.

In case of non-working mothers it was found that per capita food expenditure has a significant positive effect and illiteracy has a negative significant effect on the child's nutritional status.

In the case of working mothers per capita food expenditure as well as being employed in clerical and professional jobs have a significant positive effect , while doing manual work and having the child cared for by another person both have a significant negative effect on the child's nutritional status.