No improvement in weight-for-age of young children in southern Senegal, 1969-1992, despite a drastic reduction in mortality. Evidence from a growth monitoring programme

AbstractObjective:To identify the season with the highest prevalence of underweight among young children and to examine geographical variation in seasonality of underweight.Design:This analysis is based on monthly data from a clinic-based growth monitoring programme that forms part of the National Health Information System. A regression-based technique is used to identify seasonal patterns in both underweight prevalence and attendance nationally and in 60 different districts.Setting:The analysis covers the period 1988–1995 and is based in Zimbabwe.Subjects:The analysis is based on weight-for-age measurements of Zimbabwean children less than 5 years old, who attended health centres as part of a growth monitoring programme.Results:Nationally, a small but significant increase in levels of underweight takes place during January–March. Participation in growth monitoring also varies seasonally and could account for the increase observed. No evidence of seasonal variation in underweight prevalence is found in the majority of districts studied, although 11 of the districts showed a similar pattern to the national data set. This peak in the incidence of poor nutritional status also coincides with the period of food scarcity before harvest, which is also associated with higher prevalence of diarrhoea and malaria. No differences in seasonality of under-nutrition were found between districts with predominantly subsistence agriculture and those with more commercial forms of agriculture.Conclusions:Seasonal variation in child weight-for-age exists in some parts of Zimbabwe, but its effects on cross-sectional prevalence studies are likely to be small. There are no readily discernible differences between areas that show evidence of seasonality in levels of underweight and those that do not.

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Supplementary feeding of malnourished children in northern Iraq

Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal ◽

10.26719/2004.10.1-2.12 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 10 (1-2) ◽

pp. 12-18

Author(s):

S. Y. Agha

Keyword(s):

High Energy ◽

High Protein ◽

Supplementary Feeding ◽

Drop Out ◽

Growth Monitoring ◽

Significant Drop ◽

Northern Iraq ◽

Child Weight ◽

Malnourished Children ◽

Weight For Age

The effectiveness of the supplementary feeding programme for malnourished children aged 6 months to 3 years in Dohuk province, northern Iraq was evaluated. The enrolment criterion was child weight > or = 2 st and ard deviations below st and ard weight-for-age. Children enrolled in the programme in January 2001 were followed over 7 months. Children received high-protein high-energy biscuits in the first month and a monthly child ration for preparing soyabean mix throughout. Their families received food rations in the first 4 months. Improvement was noticed for all children, particularly in the first month. Problems with the rations and within the growth monitoring units resulted in significant drop-out. Use of st and ard growth charts may be a way to overcome this problem. High-protein biscuits should be distributed throughout instead of the mix

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How can Growth Monitoring and Special Care of Underweight Children be Improved in Zambia?

Tropical Doctor ◽

10.1177/004947559302300306 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 107-112 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Derrie Msefula

Keyword(s):

Urban Growth ◽

Growth Promotion ◽

Evaluation Study ◽

Special Care ◽

Monitoring Programme ◽

Growth Monitoring ◽

The Way

Despite widespread promotion and implementation, very few growth monitoring programmes have been evaluated. Where they have, the findings have often been disappointing and the value of routine growth monitoring has been questioned. There is a concern that the process has become more of a weighing ritual rather than growth promotion. This paper highlights the findings of the evaluation study carried out to assess the performance of the Lusaka urban growth monitoring programme in Zambia. The problems faced and reasons are identified and alternate ways of offering the service are presented. Since the shortfalls are not unique to the Lusaka programme, it is hoped that this paper will stimulate a re-think in the way growth monitoring would be best implemented.

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Impact of a Clinic-Based Growth Monitoring Programme on Maternal Nutrition Knowledge in Lesotho

International Journal of Epidemiology ◽

10.1093/ije/21.1.59 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 59-65 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

MARIE T RUEL ◽

JEAN-PIERRE HABICHT ◽

CHRISTINE OLSON

Keyword(s):

Maternal Nutrition ◽

Nutrition Knowledge ◽

Monitoring Programme ◽

Growth Monitoring

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Evaluation of the child-growth-monitoring programme in a rural district in Zimbabwe

Early Child Development and Care ◽

10.1080/03004430.2017.1320784 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 189 (2) ◽

pp. 318-327 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

A. Marume ◽

P. Mafaune ◽

J. Maradzika ◽

J. January

Keyword(s):

Child Growth ◽

Rural District ◽

Monitoring Programme ◽

Growth Monitoring

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The Role of Irrigation on Improvement of Young Children in Central Kenya

African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development ◽

10.18697/ajfand.13.1840 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 7 (13) ◽

pp. 01-16

Author(s):

Veronicah Kirogo ◽

◽

Wambui K.M ◽

Nelson M.M ◽

Keyword(s):

Young Children ◽

Nutritional Status ◽

High Income ◽

Calorie Intake ◽

Leeward Side ◽

Z Score ◽

Commercial Farming ◽

Height For Age ◽

Weight For Age

A comparative, retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the role of irrigation on improvement of nutritional status of children aged 6 – 59 months in a semi-arid setting. Two equal samples of fifty-nine children (aged 6 – 59 months) hereafter, referred to as the Project and the Non-project groups, respectively were randomly selected from households with a nd without access to irrigation water in Kieni East Division of Nyeri District, Kenya. The study area is situated in the drier western leeward side of Mt. Kenya and is characteristic by unreliable rainfall of between 500 to 1200 mm per annum. Weight, height and age of index children were determined and the corresponding standard deviations of weight-for-age, we ight-for-height and height-for-age calculated and compared to the reference standards developed by the US National Centre for Health Statistics. Energy and nutrient intake was determined using 24-hour dietary recall method. The findings on socio-demographic characteristics showed that the Project and Non-project households were similar in terms of household size, land size, marital status of the respondent, maternal and paternal education and occupation. The calorie intake of over two-fifth (42%) of the children from the Non-project households compared to 39% from the Project households was below the Recommended Daily Allowance. The children from commercial farming Project households had significantly higher weight-for-age Z-score than those from commercial farming Non-project households. Similarly, children from high-income Project households had significantly higher height-for-age Z-score than those from high-income Non-project households. The prevalence of stunting was also significantly lower in the high-income Project households compared to high-income N on-project households. Among the male children, the prevalence of underweight was significantly higher in Non-project households than in Project households. Overall, the prevalence of stunting and underweight which are indicators of long-term nutritional deprivation were higher in Non-project households than Project households. The findings of the study led to the conclusion that irrigation contributes to increased per capita food availability resulting in higher energy intakes and subsequently enables households to safeguard young children against chronic malnutrition. Also, poverty as characterised by low household income remains a main determinant of nutritional status.

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Small investment, big returns: examining the effects of having a ‘Yellow Card’ on immunization and growth monitoring of young children in Lao PDR

Annals of Global Health ◽

10.1016/j.aogh.2016.04.646 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 82 (3) ◽

pp. 394

Author(s):

A. Mobasser ◽

M. Fong ◽

J. Bitzer ◽

J. Measelle

Keyword(s):

Young Children ◽

Lao Pdr ◽

Growth Monitoring ◽

Yellow Card

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The development and application of a mobile-based data collection system for a growth monitoring programme in selected primary care centres in the Republic of Mauritius

BMJ Global Health ◽

10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001928 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (6) ◽

pp. e001928

Author(s):

Ana Irache ◽

Raveena Murachpersad ◽

Rishi Caleyachetty

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Data Collection ◽

Child Nutrition ◽

Monitoring Programme ◽

Growth Monitoring ◽

Healthcare Staff ◽

Collection System ◽

Data Collection System ◽

The Republic ◽

Collection Form

There is increased interest in child nutrition globally which has resulted in high-level commitments to address child malnutrition. However, monitoring these commitments are hindered by non-existent or weak paper-based child nutrition surveillance systems. We describe the development and application of a mobile-based data collection system in near real-time for children aged 0–5 years attending government growth monitoring sessions in selected primary care centres in the Republic of Mauritius. The mobile-based data collection form was designed using KoBoToolbox and was used in the growth monitoring programme across two districts in the north of the country. We observed nine primary care centres over a period of 18 days and collected routine data on weight from 576 children. A short questionnaire and interviews were conducted with a member of healthcare staff involved in the growth monitoring programme to measure the usability and explore the perceptions of an electronic data collection form. Prevalence estimates of child underweight and overweight were also calculated. Eight out of 10 (80%) participants obtained a System Usability Scale score >80. Healthcare staff believed that the mobile-based form had the potential to reduce their workload and reduce data transmission time. An important deployment-related issue was the need for adequate training in the use of a mobile device to collect nutrition surveillance data. Overall, 5.5% (95% CI 3.9% to 7.7%) of children were underweight and 4.4% (95% CI 3.0% to 6.5%) were overweight. Through the development and implementation of this mobile-based data collection system, we have shown the value and potential usability for mobile technologies to strengthen the child nutrition surveillance system in the Republic of Mauritius.

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Effect of Early Complementary Feeding on Nutritional Status in Term Infants in Rural Nigeria

Nutrition and Health ◽

10.1177/026010609701200103 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 25-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Anita A. Davies-Adetugbo ◽

K. Adetugbo

Keyword(s):

Rural Communities ◽

Nutritional Status ◽

Exclusive Breastfeeding ◽

Complementary Feeding ◽

Early Age ◽

Growth Monitoring ◽

Early Group ◽

Term Infants ◽

Rural Nigeria ◽

Weight For Age

Breastfeeding is common in developing countries, but exclusive breastfeeding is rare, and complementary foods are introduced at an early age. The objective of the present study is to determine the effect of early complementary feeding on the nutritional status of infants. Weight-for-age (WA) indices have been determined for 82 infants 3 to 4 months old participating in a breastfeeding study. They included 42 that started complementary feeding early (before 2 months) and 40 that started later. Weight-for-age indices were significantly lower for the early group than the later group (t =3.00, p =0.004). The prevalence of underweight (WA SO scores below -2.0) was 7.5% in the later complementary feeding group and 28.6% in the early group (χ2 =4.76, p =0.0292). Severe underweight (WA SD scores below -3.0) prevalences were 0% and 14.3% respectively (p = 0.0259). Thus, poorer nutritional status was significantly associated with earlier complementary feeding. The results suggest that exclusive breastfeeding, (together with promotion of weaning education and growth monitoring) should be vigorously promoted in these rural communities.

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Model Development for Fat Mass Assessment Using Near-Infrared Reflectance in South African Infants and Young Children Aged 3–24 Months

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21062028 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (6) ◽

pp. 2028

Author(s):

Alexander Miller ◽

Jacqueline Huvanandana ◽

Peter Jones ◽

Heather Jeffery ◽

Angela Carberry ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Children ◽

South African ◽

Fat Mass ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Reference Method ◽

Growth Monitoring ◽

Infrared Reflectance ◽

Near Infrared Reflectance ◽

Body Composition Assessment ◽

Infants And Young Children

Undernutrition in infants and young children is a major problem leading to millions of deaths every year. The objective of this study was to provide a new model for body composition assessment using near-infrared reflectance (NIR) to help correctly identify low body fat in infants and young children. Eligibility included infants and young children from 3–24 months of age. Fat mass values were collected from dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), deuterium dilution (DD) and skin fold thickness (SFT) measurements, which were then compared to NIR predicted values. Anthropometric measures were also obtained. We developed a model using NIR to predict fat mass and validated it against a multi compartment model. One hundred and sixty-four infants and young children were included. The evaluation of the NIR model against the multi compartment reference method achieved an r value of 0.885, 0.904, and 0.818 for age groups 3–24 months (all subjects), 0–6 months, and 7–24 months, respectively. Compared with conventional methods such as SFT, body mass index and anthropometry, performance was best with NIR. NIR offers an affordable and portable way to measure fat mass in South African infants for growth monitoring in low-middle income settings.

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