title: Catch-up growth and growth deficits: Nine-year annual panel child growth for native Amazonians in Bolivia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Childhood growth stunting is negatively associated with cognitive and health outcomes, and is claimed to be irreversible after age 2.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To estimate growth rates for children aged 2-7 who were stunted (sex-age standardised z-score [HAZ] <-2), marginally-stunted (-2 ≤ HAZ ≤-1) or not-stunted (HAZ >-1) at baseline and tracked annually until age 11; frequency of movement among height categories; and variation in height predicted by early childhood height.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study used a 9-year annual panel (2002-2010) from a native Amazonian society of horticulturalists-foragers (Tsimane'; n = 174 girls; 179 boys at baseline). Descriptive statistics and random-effect regressions were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This study found some evidence of catch-up growth in HAZ, but persistent height deficits. Children stunted at baseline improved 1 HAZ unit by age 11 and had higher annual growth rates than non-stunted children. Marginally-stunted boys had a 0.1 HAZ units higher annual growth rate than non-stunted boys. Despite some catch up, ∼ 80% of marginally-stunted children at baseline remained marginally-stunted by age 11. The height deficit increased from age 2 to 11. Modest year-to-year movement was found between height categories.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of growth faltering among the Tsimane' has declined, but hurdles still substantially lock children into height categories.
authors.affiliation: a Federal Reserve Board , Washington , DC , USA ;
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: b Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University , Waltham , MA , USA ;|c Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile , Santiago de Chile , Chile ;
authors.forename: Eduardo A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Undurraga
authors.affiliation: b Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University , Waltham , MA , USA ;
authors.forename: Wu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: d Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA) and Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona , Bellaterra , Spain ;
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Reyes-García
authors.affiliation: e Department of Anthropology , University of Georgia , Athens , GA , USA ;
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanner
authors.affiliation: f Department of Anthropology , Northwestern University , IL , USA ;
authors.forename: William R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.affiliation: g Department of Economics and Population Studies Center , University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia , PA , USA.
authors.forename: Jere R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Behrman
authors.affiliation: b Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University , Waltham , MA , USA ;
authors.forename: Ricardo A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Godoy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001827:Body Height; D001838:Bolivia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007199:Indians, South American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male
keywords: Growth faltering; Tsimane’; public health; social epidemiology; stunting