Development of a Zimbabwean child growth curve and its comparison with the World Health Organization child growth standards
Background: There is limited research that describes the growth trajectories of African children. The development of World Health Organization (WHO) growth standards considered a sample of children who lived in environments optimum for human growth. Aim: This study aimed to develop weight-for-age a...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AOSIS
2022-09-01
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| Series: | African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/3278 |
| Summary: | Background: There is limited research that describes the growth trajectories of African children. The development of World Health Organization (WHO) growth standards considered a sample of children who lived in environments optimum for human growth.
Aim: This study aimed to develop weight-for-age and height-for-age growth curves from the Zimbabwean 2018 National Nutrition Survey and compare them with the WHO growth standards.
Setting: Study participants were recruited from all districts in Zimbabwe.
Methods: Height-for-age and weight-for-age data collected from 32 248 children were used to develop the Zimbabwean references. Smooth growth curves (height, weight and body mass index [BMI]-for-age) were estimated with the Lambda Mu Sigma (LMS) method and compared with the WHO growth standards.
Results: Zimbabwean children were shorter and weighed less in comparison with the WHO growth standards. The –2 standard deviation (s.d.) Z-score curves (height-for-age) for Zimbabwean children (boys and girls) were below the –1 s.d. Z-score curves of the WHO growth standards. The Zimbabwean Z-scores (BMI-for-age) values above –1 s.d. were significantly higher in comparison with the corresponding WHO growth standards.
Conclusion: Utilising the WHO growth standards would diagnose a higher proportion of Zimbabwean children as stunted whilst underestimating the proportion at risk of obesity. The WHO growth standards lack a consideration of the geographical, economic, political and environmental constraints existing between countries. |
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| ISSN: | 2071-2928 2071-2936 |