This study compared the nutritional status of children in low-income households in Indonesia whose fathers were either cigarette smokers or non-smokers.

A cross sectional study of 482 children aged 2–6 years was conducted, stratified by whether the fathers were non-smoking (n = 138) or smoking (n = 340). Mothers and smoking fathers were interviewed about socioeconomic status and cigarette expenditure, respectively. The nutritional status of children was defined by weight-for-age, height-for-age and weight-for-height.

Both groups had similar income. Households with a father that smoked, spent 16.6% of their income on cigarettes. Children whose fathers did not smoke had higher height-for-age (−1.99 vs. −2.25 Z-score, p = 0.02) than children whose fathers smoked. Weight-for-age in children with fathers that did not smoke was greater (−1.49 vs. −1.64 Z-score) but not statistically significantly different to those children with fathers that smoked, nor was child weight-for-height (−0.46 vs. −0.45 Z-score). The prevalence of stunted growth was higher in the children with a father that smoked compared with those that had a father did not smoke (62.2 vs. 49.6%, p = 0.07, respectively). There were 28.3% of children underweight in homes where the fathers did not smoke, and 35.6% in households where the father smoked (p = 0.11). Wasting was observed in 4.4% children where fathers did not smoke and 4.7% where fathers did smoke.

With similar income constraints, the degree of height growth faltering was less in children whose fathers did not smoke, compared to those whose fathers did smoke.