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Anthropometric assessment of young children in Retalhuleu, Guatemala
The FASEB Journal
Abstract
An anthropometric assessment was conducted on 1238 children (age 6 mo–7 yr) from 18 rural communities in Retalhuleu, Guatemala. The anthropometry scan included collection of weight, height or recumbent length, mid‐arm circumference, age and gender. The data was processed using WHO Anthro, WHO Anthro Plus and Epi Info. 907 children (73.21%) had a height‐for‐age Z score (HAZ) of −1.0 or lower. Of these, 429 children had a HAZ of −1 to −1.99, 335 had a HAZ score of −2.0 to −2.99 and 143 had a HAZ of <−3.0. For weight‐for‐height Z scores (WHZ), 800 children (64.6%) were within the normal range (WHZ −0.99 to 0.99), 27 (2.2%) were overweight (WHZ 2.0 to 3.0) and 14 (1.1%) were obese (WHZ >; 3.0). 231 children (18.7%) had WHZ of −1.0 or lower. Of these, 159 children had WHZ of −1.0 to −1.99, 51 had WHZ of −2.0 to −3.0, and 21 had WHZ <−3. The assessment demonstrates widespread stunting in this population and suggests a potential underlying malnutrition problem. This region in southwestern Guatemala is not generally recognized as an area afflicted with extensive nutritional inadequacies or food insecurity. Further evaluation of nutritional status in this population is warranted. This study was supported by the Mathile Institute for the Advancement of Human Nutrition®.
... The department is located in southwestern Guatemala and extends from the mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The area was selected due to the high prevalence of stunting (39% in children 6-72 months), suggesting nutritional inadequacies and food insecurity [22]. A rural municipality with proximity to an urban center was selected as the study site. ...
... Chispuditos ® was developed by a team of nutrition scientists at the Mathile Institute for the Advancement of Human Nutrition and manufactured locally. Pre-post-acceptability studies with young children suggest high acceptance and daily adherence [22,[25][26][27]. The placebo for the study consisted of the same corn-soy blend fortified only with vitamin B2 (which has no known effect on the outcomes) that was otherwise identical to Chispuditos ® . ...
Undernutrition and a lack of learning opportunities can jeopardize long-term growth and development among infants in low- and middle-income countries. We conducted a 6-month 2 × 2 cluster-randomized trial to assess the effects of multiple micronutrient-fortified beverages and responsive caregiving interventions among infants 6–18 months in 72 community sectors in southwest Guatemala. We administered baseline and endline assessments of childhood development (Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development) and socioemotional development (Brief Infant Toddler Socio-Emotional Assessment) and measured ferritin and hemoglobin on a subsample. The trial was analyzed using linear mixed models. At the baseline, the mean age (SD) was 13.0 (4.6) months, including 49% males, 32% who were stunted, 55% who were anemic, and 58% who were iron deficient. At the endline (n = 328/386, 85% retention), there was no synergistic effect on the fortified beverage and responsive caregiving intervention. Compared to the non-fortified beverage group, socioemotional development improved in the fortified beverage group. There were no intervention effects on other measures of child development, hemoglobin, or ferritin. In a setting with high rates of anemia and iron deficiency, a multiple micronutrient-fortified beverage improved infants’ socioemotional development.
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