Measuring malnutrition: needs a comprehensive indicator

Abstract

Background: There are various classifications for grading the degrees of under nutrition. Different reference values and cut off points has been a major hindrance in comparing data across various studies and countries. Methods: Community based cross sectional study. Children from urban slums were examined. Anthropometric measurements were taken. Data was analyzed with the help of SPSS ver 20 and appropriate tests were applied. Results: 400 children were examined. As per Z score classification, 39.8%, 36.5% and 24.8% of children are underweight, stunted and wasted respectively. As per IAP criteria, 44.7% are undernourished and 3.2% are severely undernourished (Grade III & IV). Compared to this, the Z score system identifies a much higher prevalence of severe undernutrition (15%) compared to IAP system. Composite index of anthropometric failure (CIAF) identifies 42% of underfive children are normal i.e. no failure, while 58% of children are undernourished. Conclusions: The current study suggests that conventional measures of undernutrition may be missing out a considerable proportion of undernourished children present in the population. CIAF can be used to measure overall prevalence of undernutrition.