The effect of nutrition on growth of pre-school children in different communities in Delhi
Banik, N.D.; Nayar, S.; Krishna, R.; Raj, L.
Indian Pediatrics 9(8): 460-466
1972
ISSN/ISBN: 0019-6061 PMID: 4650709 Document Number: 52902
One group was of 387 well-nourished children aged from birth to 5 years, from families with a monthly income of over Rs 1000, living in the better residential quarters of Delhi. The other group was of 1447 poorly nourished children from families whose monthly income was less than Rs 200, living in poor areas. Nutritional status was assessed as good or poor on the basis of their bodyweight, elasticity of subcutaneous tissue, tone of muscle and signs of vitamin deficiency. Head and chest circumferences were measured also. The mean (50th percentile) heights of richer children of both sexes compared well with the USA 50th percentile (Stuart and Stevenson, in Textbook of Pediatrics, Ed. 7. (Nelson, W.D., Editor) Philadelphia, USA, Saunders (1959), p. 12) while those of the poorer children corresponded with the USA 25th percentile. Mean bodyweights (50th percentile) of the privileged children also corresponded to the USA 50th percentile while those of the poorer children corresponded with the USA 10th percentile. It appears that well-fed children of different countries grow in a similar pattern, in spite of different ethnic (genetic) origins. Among the poorer children, bodyweight was more retarded than height, probably because bodyweight is the more influenced by nutrition.