Table 1 Descriptive characteristics of the study participants by SES (n = 868)
Lower SES n = 292 | Middle SES n = 241 | Upper SES n = 335 | Combined n = 868 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Age in years mean ± SD | 12.6 ± 1.5 | 12.6 ± 1.3 | 12.7 ± 1.3 | 12.7 ± 1.4 |
Sex, n (%) | ||||
Girls | 143 (49) | 126 (52) | 171 (51) | 440 (51) |
Boys | 149 (51) | 115 (48) | 164 (49) | 428 (49) |
MUAC in cm mean ± SD | 20.8 ± 2.6 | 20.8 ± 2.5 | 21.9 ± 2.9 | 21.2 ± 2.7 |
BMI-for-age groups, n (%) | ||||
Underweight | 16 (6) | 20 (8) | 26 (8) | 62 (7) |
Normal weight | 227 (78) | 188 (78) | 246 (73) | 661 (76) |
Overweight | 36 (12) | 25 (10) | 47 (14) | 108 (12) |
Obesity | 13 (4) | 8 (3) | 16 (5) | 37 (4) |
Height-for-age, n (%) | ||||
Stunted | 61 (21) | 41 (17) | 43 (13) | 145 (17) |
Normal height-for-age | 231 (79) | 200 (83) | 292 (87) | 723 (83) |
Ethnicity, n (%) | ||||
Dalits | 91 (31) | 61 (25) | 33 (10) | 185 (21) |
Disadvantaged Janajatis | 94 (32) | 61 (25) | 76 (23) | 231 (27) |
Advantaged Jajanatis | 25 (9) | 25 (11) | 65 (19) | 115 (13) |
Upper caste | 68 (23) | 89 (37) | 154 (46) | 311 (36) |
Other/do not know | 13 (5) | 4 (2) | 7 (2) | 24 (3) |
School type, n (%) | ||||
Public | 192 (66) | 107 (44) | 81 (24) | 380 (44) |
Private | 100 (34) | 134 (56) | 254 (76) | 488 (56) |
Maternal education, n (%) | ||||
Illiterate | 35 (13) | 6 (3) | 11 (4) | 52 (7) |
Literate | 237 (87) | 208 (97) | 298 (96) | 743 (93) |
No education | 1 (0) | 2 (1) | 0 (0) | 3 (0) |
Primary to secondary level | 156 (53) | 150 (62) | 196 (59) | 502 (58) |
Higher secondary to bachelor and above | 15 (5) | 16 (7) | 75 (22) | 106 (12) |
Do not know | 120 (41) | 73 (30) | 64 (19) | 257 (30) |
Maternal employment, n (%) | ||||
Housewife | 165 (57) | 172 (72) | 224 (67) | 561 (65) |
Working | 126 (43) | 68 (28) | 110 (33) | 304 (35) |
Do not know | 1 (0) | 1 (1) | 1 (0) | 3 (0) |