Undernutrition and adolescent growth among rural Indian boys.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate impact of undernutrition on various adolescent growth parameters among rural Indian boys.


METHODS
Adolescent boys covering 8-18 yr age group were observed longitudinally for a period of 3 years.


METHODS
Adolescent boys (n=673) from seven different villages within 30 to 40 km from Pune were studied.


METHODS
Six monthly measurements on weight (upto 50 g) and height (upto 0.1 cm) were recorded and age assessment was done from school records with reasonable accuracy.


RESULTS
Stunted and underweight boys were lighter (by 4 kg) and shorter (by 8 cm) at 10 yr age compared to their normal counterparts but this difference increased to 12 kg and 10 cm respectively by adulthood. Undernourished boys however, revealed significant height gains at later ages especially beyond 14+ yr, compared to normals suggesting slow, gradual but continual growth. Undernutrition delayed age at take-off and age at PHV by about 2 yr, and lowered attained height at PHV (by 5 cm) and adult height (by 7 cm).


CONCLUSIONS
Normal and maluourished children from the same rural community show wide differences in their adolescent growth performance. Nutritional deprivation thus seems to affect almost all growth parameters and final adult size too.
Kanade
A N
AN
Department of Biometry and Nutrition, Agharkar Research Institute, Pune 411 004, India.
Joshi
S B
SB
Rao
S
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D006128:Growth / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012424:Rural Population