Do parental Smoking Behaviors Affect Children's Thinness, Stunting, and Overweight Status in Indonesia? Evidence from a Large-Scale Longitudinal Survey

The anticipated financial and health impacts of smoking exposure on children's malnutrition status have been a global concern. Albeit the emerging double burden of malnutrition along with the remarkably high prevalence of smokers in Indonesia, only a few studies have examined the impacts of parental smoking on children’s nutritional status. Using a balanced panel data of the Indonesia Family Life Survey, we analyze the extent of paternal smoking effects on the likelihood of stunting, thinness, and overweight in children. We employ a Probit Random Effect Model with Mundlak correction to eliminate the endogeneity issue of paternal smoking and estimate the impact of paternal smoking (smoking status and smoking intensity) on child malnutrition. The finding shows that a child whose father has moderate or high smoking intensity tends to have a higher probability of thinness and stunting by 2.93 and 3.47 percentage points, respectively. In contrast, the impact of a father's smoking intensity on a child's overweight status is not significant. This study also observes the nonsignificant effect of the father's smoking status on all child malnutrition status. Overall, exposure to paternal smoking increases children's risk of stunting and thinness. Key policies in tobacco control should be encouraged to reduce the potential long-term effects of paternal smoking on the country's future human capital and economic growth.