Srinagar, Jul 14: A mother’s education can make the difference between a healthy childhood and a lifetime of disadvantages, according to a new study that has found children born to illiterate mothers in Jammu and Kashmir are significantly more vulnerable to malnutrition and stunted growth.
The study, published in the prestigious journal Scientific Reports, highlights educational inequality among mothers as one of the major drivers of child malnutrition in the Union Territory and calls for urgent policy interventions aimed at improving female literacy and educational attainment.
Conducted by researchers Insha Tariq, Javaid Iqbal Khan and Manzoor Ahmad Malik, the study analysed data from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) involving 5,731 children under the age of five across Jammu and Kashmir.
The findings reveal that despite considerable improvements in healthcare indicators in recent decades, nutritional outcomes among children have remained a serious concern.
According to the study, nearly 29 per cent of children born to mothers without formal education were stunted, compared to 25 per cent of children whose mothers had received schooling.
Stunting, measured by low height-for-age, is considered one of the most important indicators of chronic malnutrition and reflects prolonged nutritional deprivation during the early years of life.
Researchers found that children of educated mothers had significantly lower odds of suffering from stunted growth, with maternal literacy emerging as a strong protective factor against malnutrition.
The study reported that children of literate mothers were around 11 per cent less likely to experience stunting compared to children of illiterate mothers.
According to the authors, education empowers women with knowledge and awareness regarding nutrition, breastfeeding practices, hygiene, immunisation schedules, sanitation and healthcare utilisation, all of which contribute directly to improved child health outcomes.
The researchers noted that educated mothers are also more likely to seek timely medical care, adopt better feeding practices and access government welfare schemes aimed at improving maternal and child health.
The study paints a broader picture of child nutrition in Jammu and Kashmir, where malnutrition continues to affect a significant proportion of children despite improvements in income levels and healthcare access.
NFHS-5 data showed that 27 per cent of children under five in Jammu and Kashmir are stunted, while 19 per cent suffer from wasting, 21 per cent are underweight, and 5.2 per cent are overweight or obese.
The burden of malnutrition was found to be particularly severe among children living in economically weaker households and rural areas.
Among children of illiterate mothers, stunting affected 31 per cent of rural children and 29 per cent of urban children. In comparison, the prevalence stood at 29 per cent among rural children of educated mothers and 24 per cent among their urban counterparts.
Apart from maternal education, the study identified several other factors associated with child malnutrition.
Children born with below-average birth size were found to face significantly higher risks of stunting compared to children with normal birth weight. Similarly, higher birth order and household poverty were also linked with increased nutritional vulnerability.
Gender differences were also observed, with boys found to be more susceptible to stunting than girls in the study population.
Regional disparities emerged as another important finding, with children in the Kashmir division showing higher odds of stunting than children living in the Jammu region.
To better understand the role of education, researchers used the Oaxaca decomposition technique, a statistical method that measures how much of the nutritional gap can be explained by differences in social and economic characteristics.
The analysis showed that educational differences among mothers accounted for a statistically significant share of the disparity in child nutrition outcomes.
Nearly 26.5 per cent of the gap in stunting between children of educated and uneducated mothers could be explained by differences in demographic and socio-economic characteristics, while the remaining gap was linked to broader structural disadvantages associated with lower educational attainment.
The researchers argued that investments in girls’ education could produce long-term public health benefits that extend well beyond literacy rates.
“Education does not merely improve knowledge; it influences health-seeking behaviour, family decision-making, household income and nutritional choices,” the study observed.
The findings assume added significance as India works towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including the target of ending all forms of malnutrition by 2030.
The authors stressed that reducing educational inequalities among women should become a central component of strategies aimed at tackling child malnutrition in Jammu and Kashmir.
They recommended strengthening female education programmes, improving access to schooling for girls, expanding nutrition awareness campaigns and integrating educational interventions with existing maternal and child healthcare initiatives.
The study concluded that while hospitals and nutrition programmes remain important, one of the most effective long-term solutions to child malnutrition may begin much earlier — in classrooms educating the mothers of tomorrow.
