CHENNAI: A shift to LPG in energy poverty areas may not be enough to improve birthweight of infants though it can help reduce air pollution compared to use of conventional biomass cooking fuel such as wood or dung.
A multi-national study of more than 3,000 women found birthweight of infants – which reduces when pregnant women are exposed to air pollution induced by conventional cook stoves – didn’t differ significantly between those born to women using LPG stoves and those born to women using biomass stoves. These women may require several health and nutritional intervention to improve birthweight, scientists said.
More than a third of the global population – about 3 billion people – rely on solid biomass for cooking, with the resulting household air pollution accounting for an estimated 2.3 million deaths annually (there were 0.6 million such deaths in India in 2019), said Dr Kalpana Balakrishnan, dean of research at Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Studies who led the India team of the study, ‘Liquefied Petroleum Gas or Biomass for Cooking and Effects on Birth Weight’.
