The economic status of older men and women in the Javanese household and the influence of this upon their nutritional level.

Data on a set of income variables and Body Mass Indices (BMI; Weight/height(2)) were collected from a sample of elderly people (N = 236; 55+ years) living in a suburb of the city of Solo in Central Java. Consistent with the results of a small number of other studies carried out in various parts of the less developed world, several of the income variables exhibit strong positive correlations with the BMI. Those correlating more strongly for the men are individual income, especially income derived from work; and, for the women, the amount of household income which they were managing, especially that contributed by others. These findings suggest that control of funds, or economic status, is a crucial determinant of the nutritional level of old people in the Javanese household, and that elderly members of the household who lack economic status tend to occupy an inferior, client, role within it.