Trends of stunting, underweight and overweight among children aged < 5 years in Kuwait: findings from Kuwait Nutritional Surveillance System (2007–2019)

Abstract

Background: There is a paucity of data on the secular trends of stunting and overweight among children aged < 5 years in oil-rich countries in the Middle East. Aims: To examine the secular trends of stunting, underweight and overweight in children aged < 5 years in Kuwait between 2007 and 2019. Methods: We used large individual data records (n=48 108) from the Kuwait Nutritional Surveillance System (KNSS) to calculate height/length-for-age z score (HAZ), weight-for-age z score and body mass index (BMI)-for-age z score using World Health Organization growth references. Stunting and underweight were defined as < 2 years. There was no increasing trend in overweight during the study period. These findings were corroborated by the distribution of HAZ and BMI-for-age z scores. Current prevalence of combined stunting and overweight was 1.53% in boys and 1.98% in girls. Conclusion: Current prevalence of stunting and underweight is low in Kuwait indicating that undernutrition is no longer a major public health issue. There is a tendency for stunting to increase in children aged < 2 years, highlighting the need to investigate early causes of stunting such as maternal and pregnancy-related factors.