To examine the relationship between homestead food production and night blindness among pre-school children in rural Bangladesh in the presence of a national vitamin A supplementation programme.

A cross-sectional study.

A population-based sample of six rural divisions of Bangladesh assessed in the Bangladesh Nutrition Surveillance Project 2001–2005.

A total of 158 898 children aged 12–59 months.

The prevalence rates of night blindness in children among those who did and did not receive vitamin A capsules in the last 6 months were 0·07 % and 0·13 %, respectively. Given the known effect of vitamin A supplementation on night blindness, the analysis was stratified by children's receipt of vitamin A capsules in the last 6 months. Among children who did not receive vitamin A capsules in the last 6 months, the lack of a home garden was associated with increased odds of night blindness (OR = 3·16, 95 % CI 1·76, 5·68; P = 0·0001). Among children who received vitamin A capsules in the last 6 months, the lack of a home garden was not associated with night blindness (OR = 1·28, 95 % CI 0·71, 2·31; P = 0·4).

Homestead food production confers a protective effect against night blindness among pre-school children who missed vitamin A supplementation in rural Bangladesh.

Paternal smoking is highly prevalent in Asia, and tobacco may account for a large proportion of household expenditures among poor families. We sought to characterise the relationship between paternal smoking, child malnutrition and food expenditures.

Data on smoking, household expenditures and child malnutrition were examined in a stratified multistage cluster sample of households in the Indonesia nutrition surveillance system. Main outcome measures were child wasting (weight-for-height Z-score < − 2), underweight (weight-for-age Z-score < − 2) and stunting (height-for-age Z-score < − 2), and severe wasting, underweight and stunting (defined by respective Z-scores < − 3).

In total, 175 583 households from urban slum areas in Indonesia.

Children 0–59 months of age.

The prevalence of paternal smoking was 73.8%. After adjusting for child gender and age, maternal age and education, and weekly per capita household expenditures, paternal smoking was associated with child stunting (odds ratio (OR) = 1.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08–1.14, P < 0.0001), severe wasting (OR = 1.17, 95% CI 1.03–1.33, P = 0.018) and severe stunting (OR = 1.09, 95% CI 1.04–1.15, P < 0.001). In households where the father was a smoker, tobacco accounted for 22% of weekly per capita household expenditures, with less money spent on food compared with households in which the father was a non-smoker.

Among poor families in urban slum areas of Indonesia, paternal smoking diverts household money from food to tobacco and exacerbates child malnutrition.