Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of stunting, underweight, and overweight among Palestinian school adolescents (13-15 years) in two major governorates in the West Bank

Table 3 Sample and population weighted results of stunting, underweight and overweight/obesity of Palestinian boys from Ramallah and Hebron governorates by sociodemographic characteristics (n = 895)

	Ramallah governorate				Hebron governorate
	n	Stunting %	Underweight %	Overweight/ obese^a %	n	Stunting %	Underweight %	Overweight/ obese^a %
Residence
Urban	197	4.8*	9.4	21.2	309	9.4	10.6	15.3*
Rural	228	13.1	9.6	15.8	133	10.6	18.9	6.8
Age in years
13	180	7.2	9.4	21.1	181	7.2	12.2	11.1
14	192	9.4	12.1	15.0	210	10.5	12.9	13.3
15	65	10.7	5.2	18.8	67	11.9	14.8	19.4
Mother's education
Low	307	10.8*	10.1	16.2	316	8.2	11.4	14.3
Medium/High	110	3.5	9.0	23.2	106	10.5	17.0	9.4
Father's education
Low	270	11.6	10.2	14.4	278	9.7	13.2	13.8
Medium	64	5.1	10.2	32.4	59	13.6	6.8	13.6
High	84	5.0	9.0	17.6	84	2.4	15.6	10.7
Family size
1-6 persons	129	5.4	6.6	25.6^e	59	5.1	11.8	11.8
7-8 persons	142	10.8	11.3	20.0	166	8.4	10.2	16.9
> 8 persons	111	11.8	14.3	10.0	195	10.3	15.4	9.8
Household STL ^b
Low	56	15.5^e	7.0	9.2* ^e	116	9.5	16.5	9.6
Medium	202	10.7	12.3	15.4	231	9.1	14.3	9.5
High	147	3.1	6.7	25.1	103	7.8	4.8	25.3***
Present household economic situation index ^c
Worse off	68	8.8	11.0	12.8	120	13.4*	15.8	15.2
Medium	233	11.5	10.9	14.8	224	8.5	12.5	10.3
Better off	115	5.8	6.6	26.5	73	2.8	9.6	17.8
Food availability ^d
Not available	128	13.5**	13.2	11.7	193	10.9	14.5	11.5
Available	292	7.5	8.8	20.6	229	7.0	11.3	14.4
Onset of puberty
No	74	16.6*	14.2	17.2	92	15.2	25.0	7.6**
Yes	363	7.8	9.0	17.9	365	8.0	9.9	14.6

*P < 0.05 **P < 0.01 ***P < 0.001
^e P for trend < 0.05
^aOverweight/obesity were defined using the 2000 CDC reference.
^bHousehold standard of living index (STL) was based on the possession of 16 household amenities; each item given a value of 1.
^cPresent household economic situation index was formulated based on 4 questions: - "Do you have enough money to cover family
needs now?" "At the present time, do you have any debts?" At the present time, to what extent do you have to postpone paying bills?" and "During the past school year, did you have to borrow money to cover family needs?".
^dFood availability was based on the question: is there enough food for all family members on daily basis now?

ISSN: 1471-2458