2.2. Study Variables

We utilized a comprehensive set of demographic and socioeconomic variables to understand the intricate dynamics of the population. These variables include gender (male, female, transgender), religion (Hindu, Muslim, Christianity, others), house ownership (own, rented/leased/others), family type (nuclear, extended/three-generation family, joint), type of house (Pucca, mixed, Kutcha), overcrowding status (not overcrowded, overcrowded), place of cooking (separate kitchen, no separate kitchen), cooking fuel source (gas, firewood/others), water source (piped water, public tap/well/bore), defecation method (home toilet, public/shared toilet, open field), garbage disposal method (garbage services, drainage, no designated place), occupation (professional, skilled, unskilled worker, unemployed, student), literacy (age >7 years) (illiterate, read, read and write, preschool/Balwadi school), and wealth index (lowest, middle, highest). Overcrowding is defined as the number of persons living in the house divided by the number of rooms in the house, excluding the kitchen. It was categorized as overcrowded if there were more than two people per room and not overcrowded when there were ≤ two persons per room [29]. The wealth index was calculated by categorizing respondents into tertiles, i.e., lowest, middle, and highest wealth, based on their ownership of 28 assets. Data were collected on the burden of chronic illness using a questionnaire. The WHO Child Growth Standards were used for the determination of nutritional status of under-5 children. The standard deviation of scores (Z-scores) for height-for-age, weight-for-height, and weight-for-age were calculated using WHO Anthro software (version 3.2.2). Furthermore, the malnutrition cutoffs are categorized as stunting when height-for-age < −2 SD, wasting when weight-for-height < −2 SD, overweight when weight-for-height > +2 SD, and underweight when weight-for-age < −2 standard deviations (SD) of the WHO Child Growth Standards median [30]. Z–Scores for height-for-age and BMI-for-age were calculated for the 5–19-year group using WHO Anthro Plussoftware (version 1.0.4). In addition, the cut-offs of malnutrition status were categorised as height-for-age < −2 SD, considered stunting and BMI-for-age (BAZ) < −2 SD, BAZ > 1 SD, and BAZ > 2 SD, defined as thinness, overweight, and obesity, respectively [31]. The age group greater than 19 and less than 60 was considered the adult category. Furthermore, the age group 60 and above was considered the elderly (or geriatric) group [32]. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated for all the available heights and weights, and the calculation is stated as BMI (Kg/m²) = Weight (Kg)/Height (m²). These BMI values are categorised as underweight when BMI < 18.5 Kg/m², normal when BMI is 18.5–22.9 Kg/m², overweight when BMI is 23–24.9 Kg/m², and obese when BMI ≥ 25 Kg/m² [33].