Anthropometric studies in pre-school children in Northeast Thailand.

In studies concerning the socio-economic development of the people in two villages in a resettlement area in Northeast Thailand, anthropometric methods, being used to study the nutritional status of preschool children, indicated that growth are below optimal by comparison with British standards. In comparison with local standards, growth rate was similar to that of healthy Thai children as determined in 1959 but below that of Bangkok kindergarten children (1969). The latter had growth rates similar to British standard whereas rural Thai children had growth rates similar to British children only in the first 10 to 12 months of life. Results from the anthropometric studies in determining nutritional status are compared with biochemical results. It was concluded that anthropometric measurements are easier to perform and yield information that agrees qualitatively with the general picture concerning nutritional status obtainable by biochemical methods.