The DHS Program

Nutritional Status of Children: Results from the Demographic and Health Surveys 1994 - 2001 (English) 

Document Type

Comparative Reports

Publication Topic(s)

Nutrition

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Mukuria, Altrena, Jeanne Cushing, and Jasbir Sangha. 2005. Nutritional Status of Children: Results from the Demographic and Health Surveys 1994-2001. DHS Comparative Reports No. 10. Calverton, Maryland, USA: ORC Macro.

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Publication Date

December 2005

Publication ID

CR10

Abstract:

This report reviews the nutritional status of children under 3 years of age in 41 developing countries. Nutritional status is based on anthropometric measurements of height and weight of children taken during household interviews conducted by the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program between 1994 and 2001. Five regions are included in this report: sub-Saharan Africa (23 countries), North Africa/West Asia/Europe (4 countries), Latin America and the Caribbean (7 countries), Central Asia (3 countries), and South/Southeast Asia (4 countries). Malnutrition includes both under- and overnutrition. Although this report focuses primarily on undernutrition (stunting, wasting, and underweight), the prevalence of overweight is also reported. Important differentials of undernutrition, such as age, are presented. Using a conceptual framework for child nutritional status adapted from UNICEF, this report explores variables representing four key influences (basic; underlying social and economic; underlying biological and behavioral; and immediate).