Anthropometric assessment of the nutritional status of preschool-age children in Cape Verde.
The nutritional status of preschool-age children (0-6 years old) in Cape Verde was assessed using anthropometric measurements in a survey that involved 17 017 children from all regions of the country. About 26% of the estimated population in the target age group was included. Data were collected through primary health care centres during the latter part of 1983. The nutritional indicators weight-for-height, weight-for-age, and height-for-age were compared with reference data from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. Values of the indicators below -2 standard deviations of the median were considered to represent moderate undernutrition, while values below -3 standard deviations were taken to indicate severe malnutrition.The prevalence of low weight-for-height (wasting) was 2.5%, while that of severe wasting was 0.6%. The corresponding prevalences of low height-for-age and weight-for-age were 13.1% and 17.2%, respectively, with severe categories representing 2.3% and 6.1%, respectively, of the cases in the total sample. There is therefore a relatively strong tendency towards growth retardation or chronic, moderate nutritional deprivation in preschool-age children in Cape Verde, although there exist interregional variations.
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D000886:Anthropometry; D001266:Atlantic Islands; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011159:Population Surveillance