The phenomenon of stunting as the core problem in a community based, multisectoral project in northern Peru.

In a nutrition and health project in the countryside of the Highlands of Northern Peru, an anthropometric study was conducted on 306 pre-school children. The results showed a primarily stunted, but not wasted, population in which the process of stunting started after the first 6 months of life, with a modest linear progression over all age-groups. However, the rates of stunted children increased dramatically between the ages of 6 months and 2 years. Evidence with regard to the social dimension of the problem of becoming stunted was revealed by the significant differences between rates of stunted children according to the degree of community participation in their home villages.