Direct and Indirect Effects of Parental Education on Malnutrition among Children in Brazil: A Full Income Approach

Investigates the effects of parental education on malnutrition among preschool children in Brazil, using data from the 1989 Brazilian National Health & Nutrition Survey. Three Z-scores -- height for age, weight for height, & weight for age -- are taken to calculate children's nutritional status, & coefficients were derived with demographic characteristics of households within a standard household model developed by Gary Becker (1965). It is found that the most serious malnutrition problem among Brazilian preschoolers was stunted growth & that malnutrition was far more pervasive among children of parents with little or no education. Simulations of effect of education levels of parents on child health were conducted which revealed that improvement of parental education could have dramatic effects on child malnutrition. 7 Tables, 1 Appendix. D. M. Smith