Growth curves and the international standard: How children's growth reflects challenging conditions in rural Timor-Leste

American Journal of Physical Anthropology
Phoebe R SpencerDebra S Judge

Abstract

Population-specific growth references are important in understanding local growth variation, especially in developing countries where child growth is poor and the need for effective health interventions is high. In this article, we use mixed longitudinal data to calculate the first growth curves for rural East Timorese children to identify where, during development, deviation from the international standards occurs. Over an eight-year period, 1,245 children from two ecologically distinct rural areas of Timor-Leste were measured a total of 4,904 times. We compared growth to the World Health Organization (WHO) standards using z-scores, and modeled height and weight velocity using the SuperImposition by Translation And Rotation (SITAR) method. Using the Generalized Additive Model for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS) method, we created the first growth curves for rural Timorese children for height, weight and body mass index (BMI). Relative to the WHO standards, children show early-life growth faltering, and stunting throughout childhood and adolescence. The median height and weight for this population tracks below the WHO fifth centile. Males have poorer growth than females in both z-BMI (p = .001) and z-height-for-age (p = .018...Continue Reading

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Citations

Apr 23, 2019·American Journal of Human Biology : the Official Journal of the Human Biology Council·Phoebe R SpencerDebra S Judge
Jun 17, 2020·Annals of Human Biology·Melanie E BoeyerEmily V Leary
Dec 15, 2019·Food and Nutrition Bulletin·Noel W Solomons
May 28, 2020·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Wen-Chien YangKuen-Cheh Yang

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