A comparison of anthropometric methods for assessing nutritional status of preschool children: the Philippines study.

Anthropometric measurement of children for assessing their nutritional status is a widely used procedure in developing countries. The purpose of this study is to identify the most reliable anthropometric measurements that reflect nutritional status and to test a few well-established formulas or methods of assessing growth and development of children. In this study 810 preschool Filipino children were measured for height weight head circumference arm circumference and skinfold thickness. These measurements were compared to WHO international standards and the Philippines standards and the degree of malnutrition was established. Various combinations of measurements were also calculated and assessed for reliability in identifying malnutrition. The results showed that many of the children were in poor nutritional status. Using the Philippines standard as a basis for comparison the WHO international standards needed some modifications. For example the standard for arm circumference did not reflect the degree of malnutrition present in the children. However Dugdales nutritional index weight/height was a reliable measurement for malnutrition. (authors modified)