Malnutrition is responsible for over 3 million childhood deaths each year. Those who survive early nutritional deficiencies and the subsequent growth failure face life-long consequences, including long-term deficits in cognitive development, decreased academic achievement, and reduced economic opportunities later in life. Low height for age, or stunting, indicates chronic malnutrition, while low weight for height (wasting) indicates acute malnutrition. Caloric deficiencies, micronutrient deficiencies, intestinal parasites, and diarrheal diseases all directly contribute to acute and chronic undernutrition. Peru is an ethnically and geographically diverse country that has experienced great economic growth and dramatic health improvements in the last decade. Nationally, stunting in children under five dropped from 31.6% in 2000 to 19.6% in 2011. Despite this overall improvement, a growing disparity has emerged: Urban and coastal areas have seen the greatest drop in stunting, but the prevalence of stunting remains high in rural and mountainous Andean areas. Research to-date has examined predictors of malnutrition for the country as a whole, but has not looked at specific geographic differences. Using the 2012 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) dataset for Peru, this study aims to 1) describe the prevalence of stunting and wasting in different geographic regions of Peru, and 2) determine which factors predict undernutrition in each region
