Table 2 Distribution of the sample in the study variables

Environmental variables

 Region

  North

41,662

18.62

Region recorded in NFHS as North were (Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, HP, J & K, Panjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Ladakh), as East (Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal), as North-East (Arunachal pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura), as Central (Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh), as West (D & N Haveli, D & Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Magarastra) and as South (A & N Island, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Telangana)

  East

43,178

19.29

  North East

33,110

14.8

  Central

57,382

25.64

  West

19,922

8.9

  South

28,531

12.75

 Type of house

  Kaccha

796

0.37

Kaccha House: Houses made from mud, thatch, or other low-quality materials. Semi pucca House: houses that use partly low-quality and partly high-quality materials. pucca House: houses made with high quality materials throughout, including the floor, roof, and exterior walls, are called pucca houses

  Semi pucca

55,427

26

  Pucca

1,56,964

73.63

 Source of drinking Water

  Improved

1,90,869

89.53

Improved source of drinking water: Include piped water, public taps, standpipes, tube wells, boreholes, protected dug wells and springs, rainwater, and community reverse osmosis (RO) plants. Unimproved source of drinking water: Unprotected dug well, Unprotected spring, Tanker truck/cart with small tank, Surface water, Bottled water (As per NFHS-5)

  unimproved

22,318

10.47

 Sanitation Facility

  Improved

1,57,689

73.97

Improved sanitation facility: Include any non-shared sanitation of the following types: flush/pour flush sanitations to piped sewer systems, septic tanks, and pit latrines; ventilated improved pit (VIP)/biogas latrines; pit latrines with slabs; and twin pit/composting sanitations. Unimproved sanitation facility: Flush/pour flush not to sewer/septic tank/pit latrine, Pit latrine without slab/open pit, and Dry sanitation

  unimproved

55,497

26.03

 Month of Interview

  Rainy Session

37,137

16.59

Rainy Session: It include May, June, July and August month. Others: January, February, March, April, September, October, November and December

  Others

1,86,648

83.41

Socio-economic variables

 Place of Residence

  Urban

45,807

20.47

Place of residence was used as original

  Rural

1,77,978

79.53

 Caste

  SC/ST

90,814

42.86

The Indian constitution (1949) created broad categories of under privileged groups in the republic of India that were to be the object of special administrative and welfare efforts. These categories were named, though not clearly defined. SC/ST: Two groups of historically disadvantaged people recognised in constitution of India and are known as depressed classes. OBC: Other socially and educationally disadvantaged classes not included in SC/ST

  OBC

85,656

40.42

  Others

35,422

16.72

 Religion

  Hindu

1,64,052

73.31

Religion of mother was used as dummy variable in three groups from original variable. Others: it includes Christians, Sikhs and Buddhists/Neo-Buddhists, Jain and others religion

  Muslim

32,341

14.45

  Others

27,392

12.24

 Wealth Index

  Poor

1,12,174

50.13

In the case of wealth status, wealth quintiles I and II have been merged as 'poor' quintiles III as 'middle' and quintiles IV and V as 'rich' categories

  Middle

43,511

19.44

  Rich

68,100

30.43

 Mother’s Education

  No education

48,414

21.63

Education was used as original

  Primary

28,663

12.81

  Secondary

1,15,638

51.67

  Higher

31,070

13.88

 Mother's Age

  15–24 years

68,875

30.78

Age of the respondents at the time of survey in completed years

  25–34 years

1,32,961

59.41

  35–49 years

21,949

9.81

 Media to exposure

  Never

65,445

29.24

Media Exposure was considered as ‘Everyday if respondent used any media (i.e. TV, Radio & Newspaper) for every day, considered as 'Sometimes' if media used once in a week and month and as 'Never' if no access to mass media

  Sometimes

1,43,754

64.24

  Everyday

14,586

6.52

Child Variables

 Sex of Child

  Boy

1,15,632

51.67

Sex of the child was used as original

  Girl

1,08,153

48.33

 Age of Child(months)

  0–11

44,332

20.0

Age of the child at the time of survey in completed years

  Dec-35

86,940

39.3

  36–59

89,991

40.7

 Birth order of Child

  1

85,680

38.29

Birth order categories as per children birth per women

  2

74,051

33.09

  3 and above

64,054

28.62

 WAZ-Score

  Normal

1,45,343

69.11

Children whose weight-for-age Z-score is below minus two standard deviations (-2 SD) from the median of the reference population are classified as underweight. Children whose weight-for-age Z-score is below minus three standard deviations (-3 SD) from the median are considered severely underweight

  Underweight

43,257

20.57

  Severely Underweight

21,713

10.32