Undernutrition among Honduran children 12-71 months old

In 1996, the Ministry of Health of Honduras conducted a national micronutrient survey that included anthropometric measurements to determine the nutrition status of children 12-71 months old. Among the 1.744 children who participated, 38 percent of them were stunted, including 14 percent who were severely stunted; 24 percent were underweight, of which 4 percent were severely underweight; and 1 percent were wasted, of which 0,1 percent were severely wasted. The country can be divided into three groupings based on the level of stunting and underweight: 1) lowest prevalence: Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, and medium cities; 2) medium prevalence: other urban areas, the rural north, and the rural south; and 3) highest prevalence: the rural west. Using logistic regression analysis, the important determinants of stunting were found to be: mother/caretaker's and father's schooling, source of water, the dominion (geographic location and strata) in which the child lived, and the "possession score" for ownership of such items as a radio, television, refrigerator, stereo system, and electric iron. The predictors for underweight were micronutrient status, diarrhea, maternal/caretaker's schooling, type of toilet, and possession score. Historical data indicate that the national prevalence of chronic undernutrition has changed little over the last 10 years despite the number of national food and nutrition plans implemented and the significant improvements in health services. It is possible that these positive interventions have been offset by the slow progress in economic development. Future nutrition interventions should take into account household-level perceived needs and priorities in order to set realistic nutrition targets

The Andalusian Nutritional Survey: comparison of the nutritional status of Andalusian children aged 6-60 months with that of the NCHS/CDC reference population

Presented are the results of the anthropometric component of the 1985 Andalusian Nutritional Survey. The heights and weights of a representative sample of children aged 6-60 months were compared with data for the National Center for Health Statistics/Centers for Disease Control (NCHS/CDC) reference population. Of the 1181 preschool-age children surveyed, the great majority fell within +/- standard deviation (SD) scores for height-for-age (93.6 per cent) and weight-for-height (93.5 per cent), and most (87.7 per cent) were within +/- 2 SD scores of the mean value for the NCHS/CDC reference population for both height-for-age and weight-for-height. The proportion of stunting was 3.2 per cent, that of wasting 1.0 per cent, and that of both stunting and wasting 0.4 per cent. For both sexes, the distribution of height-for-age was comparable with that of the NCHS/CDC reference population, while that for weight-for-height was skewed to the right. This suggests that for the same height, the weight of Andalusian children increased more over the 5 years preceding the survey than that of the reference population over the period 1971-74. The data obtained could be used as a baseline to evaluate the effectiveness of future nutrition programmes for children who are at a high risk of undernutrition or obesity (Au)

The Andalusian Nutritional Survey: Comparison of the nutritional status of Andalusian children aged 6-60 months with that of the NCHS/CDC reference population

Presented are the results of the anthropometric component of the 1985 Andalusian Nutritional Survey. The heights and weights of a representative sample of children aged 6-60 months were compared with data for the National Center for Health Statistics/Centers for Disease Control (NCHS/CDC) reference population. Of the 1181 preschool-age children surveyed, the great majority fell within + or - 2 standard deviation (SD) scores for height-for-age (93.6 per cent) and weight-for-height (93.5 per cent), and most (87.7 per cent) were withing + or - 2 SD scores of the mean value for the NCHS/CDC reference population for both height-for-age and weight-for-height. The proportion of stunting was 3.2 per cent, that of wasting 1.0 per cent, and that of both stunting and wasting 0.4 per cent. For both sexes, the distribution of height-for-age was comparable with that of the NCHS/CDC reference population, while that for weight-for-height was skewed to the right. This suggests that for the same height, the weight of Andalusian children increased more over the 5 years preceding the survey than that of the reference population over the period 1971-74. The data obtained could be used as a baseline to evaluate the effectiveness of future nutrition programmes for children who are at a high risk of undernutrition or obesity(AU)

Anthropometric assessment of the nutritional status of preschool-age children in Cape Verde

The nutritional status of preschool-age children (0-6 years old) in Cape Verde was assessed using anthropometric measurements in a survey that involved 17 017 children from all regions of the country. About 25 percent of the estimated population in the target ages group was included. Data were collected through primary health care centres during the latter part of 1983. The nutritional indicators weight-for-height, weight-for-age, and hight-for-age were compared with reference data from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. Values of the indicators below -2 standard deviations of the median were considered to represent moderate undernutrition, while values below -3 standard deviations were taken to indicate severe malnutrition. The prevalence of low weight-for-height (wasting) was 2.5 percent, while that of severe wasting was 0.6 percent. The corresponding prevalences of low height-for-age and weight-for-age were 13.1 percent and 17.2 percent, respectively, with severe categories representing 2.3 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively, of the cases in the total sample. There is therefore a relatively strong tendency towards growth retardation or chronic, moderate nutritional deprivation in preschool-age children in Cape Verde, although there exist interregional variations