Demographic and Health Survey 2009-10 - Timor-Leste Ministry of ...

Table 12.9 indicates that about 7 percent of the children showed restricted movements in the
evenings and 12 percent were reported to trip or bump into objects. Children age 18-23 months are
most likely to show these signs. Children in Ainaro and Liquiçá most often showed these symptoms.
It can be noted here that the proportion of children receiving vitamin A supplementation in the 6
months before the survey was lowest in Ainaro (20 percent in Table 12.8).
12.9 NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF WOMEN
A woman’s nutritional status has important implications for her health as well as for the
health of her children. Malnutrition in women results in reduced productivity, an increased
susceptibility to infections, delayed recovery from illness, and heightened risk of adverse pregnancy
outcomes. A woman with poor nutritional status, as indicated by a low body mass index (BMI), short
stature, anemia, or other micronutrient deficiency, has a greater risk of obstructed labor, having a baby
with a low birth weight, producing lower quality breast milk, dying from postpartum hemorrhage, and
experiencing illness for herself and her baby.
The 2009-10 TLDHS collected information on the height and weight of women in the
reproductive age group. In this report, two indicators of nutritional status are presented—height and
BMI.
The height of a woman is associated with past socioeconomic status and nutrition during
childhood and adolescence. A woman’s height is used to predict the risk of difficulty in delivery
because small stature is often associated with small pelvic size and the potential for obstructed labor.
The risk of giving birth to a low birthweight baby is influenced by the mother’s nutritional status. The
cut-off point for the height at which mothers can be considered at risk varies between populations but
normally falls between 140 and 150 centimeters. As in other DHS surveys, a cut-off point of 145 cm
is used for the 2009-10 TLDHS.
The index used to measure thinness or obesity is known as the BMI, defined as weight in
kilograms divided by height squared in meters (kg/m 2 ). A cut-off point of 18.5 is used to define
thinness or acute undernutrition, and a BMI of 25 or above usually indicates overweight or obesity.
According to WHO, a prevalence of more than 20 percent of women with a BMI less than 18.5
indicates a serious public health problem (WHO, 1995).
Table 12.10 presents the values of the two indicators of nutritional status and the proportion
of women falling into high-risk categories, according to background characteristics. Women for
whom there was no information on height and/or weight and for whom a BMI could not be estimated
(pregnant women and women with a birth in the preceding two months) are excluded from this
analysis. The data analysis on BMI is based on 11,698 women, while the height analysis is based on
12,845 women age 15-49 years. Overall, 15 percent of women are shorter than 145 cm. Women in
rural areas are much shorter on average than women in urban areas, with 17 percent falling below the
145 cm cutoff compared with only 9 percent of women in urban areas. Women living in Dili are least
likely to be below 145 cm (7 percent), while women in Ermera are most likely (31 percent). Women
with a secondary and higher level of education are less likely to be short than women who have no
education. Women in the highest wealth quintile are less likely to be below 145 cm than women in the
lowest wealth quintile (8 percent and 17 percent, respectively).
Table 12.10 shows that there are large differentials across background characteristics in the
percentage of women assessed as malnourished or “thin” (BMI less than 18.5) and overweight (BMI
25 or higher). Twenty-seven percent of women were found to be malnourished with BMI