Nutrition, Seasonality, and Morbidity among Children in Rural Pakistan

Faiza Tabassum, University of Southampton
Zoe Matthews, University of Southampton
Nyovani Madise, University of Southampton
Peter W.F. Smith, University of Southampton

Many studies have demonstrated that the nutritional status of small children is affected by morbidity and infections. Using data from Pakistan Panel Survey conducted in rural areas of Pakistan, this paper tries to identify the mechanism through which seasonality has an impact on morbidity patterns that in turn affect the nutritional status of children. Usually in children, the nutritional status is determined by anthropometric measures, which in turn is affected by factors such as incidence of morbidity and infection. The longitudinal nature of the data allows investigating the effects of two major seasons of Pakistan (i.e., summer and winter) on morbidity patterns and a consequence on nutritional status of children. Both random-effects and marginal models are used to analyze such effects.