ABSTRACT
Objectives: A community based cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of undernutrition using body mass index (BMI) among 7-18 year old Santal children and adolescents of Purulia District, West Bengal, India. Methods: A total of 421 (217 boys) children from ten villages was measured. Age and sex specific new international BMI (kg/m2) based cut off values were used to evaluate nutritional status. Results: Although girls had greater mean weight and BMI than boys, these sex differences were not statistically significant. Moreover, boys and girls had almost similar mean heights. Although more girls (44.6%) than boys (38.3%) were undernourished, this sex difference was also not significant. The overall prevalence of thinness (41.3%) was very high among the studied Santal children and adolescents. Conclusion: The children and adolescents of both sexes were observed to be under serious and critical nutritional stress.
ABSTRACT
The objective of the study was to develop prediction equations for fat-mass percentage in infants in India based on skinfold thickness, mid-arm circumference, and age. Skinfold thicknesses and mid-arm circumference of 46 apparently-healthy infants (27 girls and 19 boys), aged 6-24 months, from among the urban poor attending a well baby clinic of a hospital in Kolkata were measured. Their body-fat percentage was measured using the D2O dilution technique as the reference method. Equations for body-fat percentage were developed using a stepwise forward regression model using skinfold thicknesses, mid-arm circumference, and age as independent variables, and the body-fat percentage was derived by D2O dilution as the dependent variable. The new prediction equations are: body-fat percentage=-69.26+5.76×B- 0.33×T2+5.40×M+0.01×A2 for girls and body-fat percentage=-8.75+3.73×B+2.57×S for boys, where B=biceps skinfold thickness, T=triceps skinfold thickness, and S=suprailiac skinfold thickness all in mm, M=mid-arm circumference in cm, and A=age in month. Using the D2O dilution technique, the means (SD) of the calculated body-fat percentage were 17.11 (7.25) for girls and 16.93 (6.62) for boys and, using the new prediction equations, these were 17.11 (6.25) for girls and 16.93 (6.02) for boys. The mean of the differences of paired values in body-fat percentage was zero. The mean (SD) of the differences of paired values for body-fat percentage derived by the D2O technique and the new equations, applied on an independent sample of 23 infants (11 girls and 12 boys) were -0.93 (6.56) for girls and 1.14 (2.43) for boys; the 95% confidence limits of the differences of paired values for body-fat percentage were -2.03 to +3.89 for girls and -0.26 to +2.54 for boys. Given that the trajectories of growth during infancy and childhood are a major risk factor for a group of diseases in adulthood, including coronary heart disease and diabetes, these predictive equations should be useful in field studies.
ABSTRACT
Objective. To assess the prevalence of thinness among 2-6 year old children of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme Bali-Gram Panchayat, Hooghly, West Bengal, India. Methods. Height and weight measurements were taken. The body mass index (BMI) was computed. The new international cut-off points classification proposed by Cole et al were utilized to identify thinness. Results. The overall (age-combined) mean BMI among boys and girls were 13.2 kg/m2 (sd = 1.7) and 13.0 kg/m2 (1.6), respectively. Mean BMI decreased from 2 to 5 years in both sexes. There were a significant (p < 0.05) sex difference in mean BMI (t = 2.57) at age 3 years. The overall (age-combined) prevalence of thinness among boys and girls were 84.8 % and 85.6 %, respectively. Conclusion. The results of the present study clearly indicates that the nutritional status of these children is of concern.