Stunting trajectories from post‐infancy to adolescence in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam

Bibliographic Data

ID15536676
AuthorsJewel Gausman (0000-0002-9880-2591, Women's Health Initiative, corresponding author), Rockli Kim (0000-0002-9864-3957, Harvard University Press), V Subramanian (0000-0003-2365-4165, Harvard University)
Year2019
Volume15
Issue4
Pagese12835-e12835
Publication date2019-05-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMaternal and Child Nutrition (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1740-8695 • E-ISSN: 1740-8709
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/mcn.12835
PMID31042809
OpenAlexW2943057471
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited27

Many interventions focus on preventing stunting in the first 1,000 days of life. We take a broader perspective on childhood growth to assess the proportions of children who suffer persistent stunting, recover, and falter and become newly stunted between birth and adolescence. We use longitudinal data collected on 7,128 children in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam. Data were collected in five survey waves between the ages of 1 to 15 years. We use descriptive and graphical approaches to compare the trajectories of children first stunted by age 1, first stunted by age 5, and those remained not stunted until age 5. On average, 29.6% of children were first stunted by age 1, 12.9% of children were first stunted by the age 5, and 68.7% of children were not stunted at either age 1 or age 5. A larger percentage of children stunted by age 1 remained stunted at age 15 (40.7%) compared with those who were first stunted by age 5 (32.3%); 33.7% of children first stunted by age 1 and 31.1% of children first stunted by age 5 go on to recover, but then falter during later childhood. 13.1% of children who were not stunted at age 1 or age 5 become newly stunted between the ages of 8 and 15. Our results show that children both become stunted and recover from stunting into adolescence. More attention should be paid to interventions to support healthy growth throughout childhood

Developmental psychology · Early childhood · Malnutrition · Psychological intervention · Stunted growth · Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Demography · Medicine · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Psychology · Pediatrics

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