Nutrition Indicators for Development: Priority and Intervention Efforts

Abstract

Nutrition indicators are commonly used to measure the progress of development programmes and projects. They are used by planners and policy makers to establish baseline values, to focus attention on the problems of nutrition, and to identify development projects for nutritionally at-risk groups of the population. The selection and identification of nutrition indicators should be based on precise criteria: measurability, appropriateness, comprehensiveness, relevance, sensitivity, and impact orientation. The Philippines used five nutrition indicators in the update of the Philippine Development Plan, 1990–1992: percentage of preschool children with weight less than 75% of the standard weight for age, percentage of schoolchildren 7–10 years old with height less than 90% of standard height for age, percentage of schoolchildren 7–10 years old with weight less than 75% of standard weight for age, per capita energy intake, and percentage of households with energy intake less than 100% adequacy. These indicators were selected on the basis of their sensitivity, simplicity, and usefulness in appraising the effects of nutritional interventions and the ease of data collection.