Two decade trends in birth weight and early childhood growth in Papua New Guinea.

At present, little is known about patterns of early growth and development in foraging and small-scale horticultural populations. Moreover, still less is known about secular changes in growth in these populations. Data collected in 1967, 1976, and 1989 are presented for birth weight and subsequent growth to 5 years among Au forager-horticulturalists of Papua New Guinea. Despite the launching of health campaigns over the last two decades aimed at bettering the nutritional status of the Au, the data show that average birth weight has remained stable and low at just over 2600 g. Weight- and length-for-age also show no significant changes among traditional Au over the last 20 years, and remain on average, at just below the U.S. 5th percentile. Evidence for the start of a positive secular trend in birth weight and subsequent growth is seen, however, among a small group of Au children residing in households that have a source of wage income. These individuals show an increase of 150 g in birth weight, and over the subsequent 5 years of growth average 93 g heavier and 2.6 cm taller than Au children in traditional households. In addition to providing baseline data on child growth in a forager-horticulturalist society, the findings provide evidence for a secular trend newly underway, and suggest that health promotion campaigns alone without socioeconomic development may be insufficient in effecting change in growth status in rural communities. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 10:483-493, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.