Anthropometric Failure Research Articles

DETERMINAN KEJADIAN COMPOSITE INDEX OF ANTHROPOMETRIC FAILURE (CIAF) DI KABUPATEN SIJUNJUNG, PADANG PARIAMAN DAN PASAMAN BARAT

<p><em>Composite Index Of Anthropometric (</em><em>CIAF) is a tool to measure nutrition, especially to identify children with several anthropometric failures. </em><em>From WHO data estimates 52 million children under 5 years are thin, 17 million people are very thin and 155 million are short, while 41 million people are obese. About 45% of deaths among children under 5 years of age are related to malnutrition. </em><em>The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of </em><em>Composite Index of Anthropometric (</em><em>CIAF) at the age of 24-59 months in Sijunjung District, Padang Pariaman and West Pasaman.</em><em></em></p><p><em>This type of research is quantitative with Cross Sectional research design conducted in May-August 2018. The research population amounted to 9,164 children from three districts namely Sijunjung District, Padang Pariaman and West Pasaman. Samples in the study of children aged 24-59 months with a total of 267 children. The analysis used is univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis.</em><em></em></p><p><em>The results of this study using logistic regression for the most dominant factors influencing the CIAF event, namely the family economy with P value 0,000 (OR 10,503).The conclusion of this study is that of the three districts that influence the incidence of CIAF are the maternal education and family economy. Posyandu cadres are expected to better monitor the health of the field so that children can report nutritional problems in more detail.</em><em></em></p><p><em> </em></p>

Association between anthropometric-based and food-based nutritional failure among children in India, 2015.

Inadequate dietary intake is a critical underlying determinant of child undernutrition. This study examined the association between anthropometric-based and food-based nutritional failure among children in India. We used the 2015-2016 National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau data where anthropometric outcomes and food intake were both measured for each child. We followed the World Health Organization child growth reference standards to define anthropometric failures (i.e., height-for-age z score<-2 SD for stunting, weight-for-age z score<-2 SD for underweight, and weight-for-height z score<-2 SD for wasting), and the Indian Council of Medical Research recommended dietary allowance (RDA) to define adequacy in intake of calorie, protein, and fat. We used descriptive and regression-based assessments to test the association between the two indicators of nutritional failure and also computed the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting was 28.6%, 24.3%, and 12.8%, respectively, whereas 78.2%, 27.4%, and 50.8% of the children had below RDA norms consumption of calorie, protein, and fat, respectively. We found weak-to-null correlation between anthropometric failures and food failures (Pearson correlation ranging from -0.013 to 0.147) and poor discriminatory accuracy (AUC<0.62), suggesting that in the Indian context, anthropometric failures are not directly associated with food intake. This finding highlights the need for improving adequate intake of macronutrients and draws attention toward adopting a multifactorial approach to improve child nutrition in India. Poor food intake itself merits exclusive policy focus as it is an important nutrition and health concern.

Changes in Child Nutrition in India: A Decomposition Approach.

Background: Improvements in child health are a key indicator of progress towards the third goal of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Poor nutritional outcomes of Indian children are occurring in the context of high economic growth rates. The aim of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the demographic and socio-economic factors contributing to changes in the nutritional status of children aged 0–5 years in India using data from the 2004–2005 and 2011–2012 Indian Human Development Survey. Methods: To identify how much the different socio-economic conditions of households contribute to the changes observed in stunting, underweight and the Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF), we employ both linear and non-linear decompositions, as well as the unconditional quantile technique. Results: We find the incidence of stunting and underweight dropping by 7 and 6 percentage points, respectively. Much of this remarkable improvement is encountered in the Central and Western regions. A household’s economic situation, as well as maternal body mass index and education, account for much of the change in child nutrition. The same holds for CIAF in the non-linear decomposition. Although higher maternal autonomy is associated with a decrease in stunting and underweight, the contribution of maternal autonomy to improvements is relatively small. Conclusions: Household wealth consistently makes the largest contribution to improvements in undernutrition. Nevertheless, maternal autonomy and education also play a relatively important role.

Assessment of under nutrition using composite index of anthropometric failure among under five children of tribal population

Background: Under nutrition is one of the most imperative problems among children that needed to be addressed in the realm of public health. Undernourished children cannot maintain natural biological abilities, such as growth, recuperating from ailments, learning and physical development. Poor feeding practices along with illnesses like diarrhoea, pneumonia, helminthic infections etc. are major determinants of under nutrition in India. The tribal populations in India are identified to be the autochthonous people of the land thereby being one of the major sufferers of under nutrition. This study aimed at finding out the prevalence of under nutrition among under-five children in tribal population in Tiruchirappalli district of Tamil Nadu.Methods: This community based cross-sectional analytical study was done among Malayali Tribes population of Puthur village, Pachamalai Hills, Trichy to determine the prevalence of under-nutrition using CIAF and WHO Z scoring system and its risk factors by multivariate analysis.Results: Out of 100 children, about 85% were undernourished as per CIAF criteria. In the Multivariate analysis, children of employed mother and children who were not given exclusive breast feeding were associated with Under nutrition which was statistically significant (p&lt;0.05).Conclusions: CIAF could be considered as a better measure than any other single index to identify the problem in the community. The study also emphasizes the significance of proper IYCF practices among employed mothers and improvement of MCH services in Tribal population during antenatal and immediate postnatal period to bring down the prevalence of under nutrition.

Diversity in Main Dishes Prevents Children From Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF)

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background&lt;/strong&gt;: Malnutrition that occurs in early period of life caused the vulnerable to diseases, cognitive disorder and failed to thrive. Failed to thrive decide from the result of anthropometric measurement. Failed to thrive happened when the result of measuring indicate a problem. If the problem showed in two or more index, it is called CIAF. In Indonesia one of two children had CIAF (51,4 %). Cities in Indonesia use only a single index of anthropometry so the data of CIAF is not available. &lt;strong&gt;Objective&lt;/strong&gt;: the objective of the study was to find the association of food diversity with the incidence of CIAF. &lt;strong&gt;Method&lt;/strong&gt;: cross – sectional design applied in this study with the number of sample were 267 children aged 2 – 5 years. &lt;strong&gt;Result&lt;/strong&gt;: there were 23,6% children suffered from CIAF and generally consume the same type of food everyday. There was a significant association between diversity in main food consumption with the incidence of CIAF (p = 0,034). It means children who consume diversity main food everyday protected from CIAF compared to the children who eat the same main food each day (OR = 2). &lt;strong&gt;Conclusion&lt;/strong&gt;: main food diversity prevents the children from CIAF. The mother expected to provide diversity source for the main dishes everyday (other than rice) such as bread or potato. For the health institutions, suggested to increase the education about the variaty of food processing towards so that the children could escape from the boredom.&lt;/p&gt;

Are household food security, nutrient adequacy, and childhood nutrition clustered together? A cross-sectional study in Bankura, West Bengal

Research on different measures of food security and their interrelation in order to identify vulnerable households are scarce in India. The objective was to assess household food security (HHFS), nutrient adequacy, dietary diversity, and nutritional status of under-five children along with their interrelation in the slums of Bankura Municipality, West Bengal. A cross-sectional study was conducted during 2016-2017 among 240 households using two-stage 30-cluster random sampling. Information regarding socioeconomic characteristics, availability, and utilization of different poverty alleviation schemes was collected. HHFS was assessed by a validated HHFS scale-short form in Bengali and nutrient adequacy with 24-h recall method. The eldest under-five child in the family was measured for anthropometry using standard procedure and for dietary diversity with the Individual Dietary Diversity Score. Overall, 74 (29.1%) households had "food security," whereas 102 (44.3%) and 64 (26.6%) had, respectively, low and very low food security. Among 190 under-five children, 63 (35.3%) had single and 50 (25.5%) had multiple anthropometric failures. Overall, 89 (36.1%) households were deficient for both energy and protein and 111 (47.6%) had deficiency of either of these two. Indicators on the utilization of different poverty alleviation schemes were associated with low/very low food security. A "Composite Index of Food Scarcity" comprising of HHFS, nutrient adequacy, and dietary diversity was proposed which was found to have dose-response relationship with grades of anthropometric failure of under-five children. An index comprising of three indicators might help identify the vulnerable households in relation to food security more effectively than a single indicator.

Multiple anthropometric failures and early child development in 34 low- and middle-income countries

Multiple anthropometric failures and early child development in 34 low- and middle-income countries

Nutritional assessment among children (1–5 years of age) using various anthropometric indices in a rural area of Haryana, India

Background: Global Nutrition Targets 2025 specified a set of six global nutrition targets, and one aim is to achieve a 40% reduction in the number of children under 5 years of age who are stunted. National data on underweight provided under National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4) (2015–2016) revealed an underweight prevalence rate around 35.7% as compared to NFHS-3 where it was 42.5%, which reflects only 6.8% reduction in underweight over a decade. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the rural area of Rohtak district during October 2014 to September 2015 among children who were 1–5 years of age. The anthropometric measurement and nutritional status categorization among children were done using the WHO guidelines. Results: A total of 600 children participated in the study. Around 41.3% of the study participants had stunting as their nutritional status, while taking composite index of anthropometric failure (CIAF) for nutritional status into consideration, nearly 54.4% of the participants were undernourished. Stunting and underweight were more prevalent among girls. Conclusions: Composite anthropometric index provides the actual prevalence or proportion of undernourished children in a community, so the policies should be based on the basis of CIAF so to reduce the prevalence of undernutrition in the community more effectively.

The Concept of Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF): Revisited and Revised

The Concept of Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF): Revisited and Revised

Assessment of undernutrition using Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure among children aged &lt; 5 years in rural Yemen

Impaired nutritional status is a major health problem affecting young children in developing countries that has a significant impact on child morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of undernutrition among children aged < 5 years, using conventional indices and the Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF), and then comparing their estimated results. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted and information was collected through house-tohouse visits using precoded structured records. We analysed data from 1292 children aged 6-59 months, from Ahwar and Al-Mahfed rural districts in Abyan Governate, South Yemen, with reference to the 2006 World Health Organization growth standards. CIAF identified undernutrition in 70.1% of children, while conventional anthropometric indices revealed 38.5% stunting, 39.9% wasting, and 55.1% underweight. Compared with conventional indices, CIAF aggregate recognized 31.6%, 30.2% and 15% more undernourished children than stunting, wasting and underweight separately. According to CIAF, 21% had a single anthropometric failure and 49.2% exhibited multiple failures. Stunting Index, Wasting Index and Underweight Index were 0.55, 0.57 and 0.79, respectively. CIAF gives a better estimate of undernutrition than currently used conventional indices; identifies more children with multiple anthropometric failures; and reflects a wider view of the extent and pattern of undernutrition of children living in communities with limited resource settings.

Aiming higher for maternal and child nutrition in South Asia.

The sustainable development of nations relies on children developing to their full potential and leading healthy, productive, and prosperous lives. Poor nutrition in early life threatens the growth and development of children, especially so in South Asia, which has the highest burdens of stunting, wasting, and anaemia in the world. Targeted actions to reduce stunting and other forms of child malnutrition in South Asia should be informed by an understanding of what drives poor nutrition in children, who is most affected, and effective programme approaches. To this end, the UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia commissioned a series of papers in 2016–2017 to fill knowledge gaps in the current body of evidence on maternal and child nutrition in South Asia, including analyses of: (a) the links between anthropometric failure in children and child development; (b) the time trends, current distribution, disparities and inequities of child stunting, wasting and anaemia, and their direct and underlying causes, including maternal anaemia, low birth weight, breastfeeding, and complementary feeding; (c) policy and programme actions to increase the coverage of nutrition interventions during pregnancy, improve breastfeeding practices, and care for severely wasted children. This overview paper summarizes the evidence from these analyses and examines the implications for the direction of future advocacy, policy, and programme actions to improve maternal and child nutrition in South Asia.

Infant and young child feeding practices and nutritional status in Bhutan.

In South Asia, childhood undernutrition persists while overweight is increasing. Internationally recommended infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices promote healthy nutritional status; however, little is known about IYCF in Bhutan, investigated here using 2015 National Nutrition Survey data. WHO/UNICEF IYCF indicators, anthropometry and household socio‐economic status were available for 441 children <24 months. Stunting, wasting, and underweight prevalence (<−2Z length‐for‐age [LAZ], weight‐for‐age, [WAZ] and weight‐for‐length [WLZ], respectively) were 15%, 9%, and 5%, respectively, whereas overweight (WLZ >2) prevalence was 6%. In survey‐design‐adjusted analyses, 52% of mothers of 0‐ to 5‐month olds reported exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), with EBF less common for girls than boys (OR: 0.2 [95% CI: 0.1–0.9]). Although 61% of children were breastfed at 2 years and 75% of children >6 months met a minimum daily meal frequency, only 18% of children 6–23 months met minimum dietary diversity. IYCF was unassociated with risk of stunting, wasting, or underweight, possibly due to relatively low prevalence of anthropometric failure and small sample size. However, currently‐breastfed children were less often overweight [OR: ~0.1 (95% upper limit ≤1.0)]. Neither breastfeeding nor most complementary feeding practices differed by socio‐economic status, but children in the highest two fifth of a wealth index had 7.8 (1.3–46.9) and 5.3 (1.1–25.2) times greater odds than children in the lowest fifth of meeting minimum dietary diversity criteria. Low rates of EBF, given possible protection of breastfeeding against overweight, and inadequate dietary diversity offer evidence to guide future program interventions to improve nutritional status of young children.

Community management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) programme in Pakistan effectively treats children with uncomplicated severe wasting.

Severe wasting is the most widespread form of severe acute malnutrition, affecting an estimated 17 million children globally. This analysis assesses the effectiveness of Pakistan's community management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) programme. We conducted a retrospective case series analysis of 32,458 children aged 6–59 months who were admitted to the programme with a mid‐upper arm circumference (MUAC) < 115 mm (January 1–December 31, 2014). We found that at admission, 59.6% of the children were girls and 87.4% were in the age group 6–23 months old. While in the programme, 120 children (0.4%) died, 3,456 (10.6%) defaulted, and 28,882 (89.0%) were discharged after a mean length of stay of 69.3 ± 25.7 days. Children's mean weight gain while in the programme was 3.2 ± 2.7 g/kg body weight/day. At discharge, 28,499 children (98.7% of discharged) had recovered (MUAC ≥ 125 mm). The odds of death were significantly higher among children with weight‐for‐height (WHZ) < −3 and/or height‐for‐age (HAZ) < −2 at admission. The odds of recovery on the basis of MUAC ≥125 mm were higher among children with HAZ ≥ −2 at admission. The odds of recovery on the basis of WHZ ≥ −2 were significantly higher among children with WHZ ≥ −3 and/or HAZ < −2 at admission. Pakistan's CMAM programme is effective in achieving good survival and recovery rates. Population‐level impact could be increased by giving priority to children 6–23 months old and children with multiple anthropometric failure and by scaling up CMAM in the provinces and areas where the risk, prevalence, and/or burden of severe acute malnutrition is highest.

Assessment of undernutrition using composite index of anthropometric failure among children less than 5 years in an urban slum, Visakhapatnam

Background: Under nutrition continues to be a major public health problem in India despite years of incessant preventive measures. Composite index of anthropometric failure (CIAF) provides the burden of under nutrition as a single measure and helps in detection of children with multiple anthropometric failures. The objectives of this study are to assess the prevalence of under nutrition using CIAF as compared to conventional indicators and to identify the risk factors associated with Anthropometric Failure.Methods: This was a community based, cross sectional descriptive study on Under 5 children done in the urban slum area under Allipuram Urban Health Centre, Visakhapatnam, A.P. Anthropometric measurements (height, weight and mid upper arm circumference) were taken and mothers of the study children were interviewed to obtain relevant information. WHO Z-score system and the CIAF were used to estimate the magnitude of under-nutrition.Results: Out of 100 children, 56 children were suffering from under nutrition according to CIAF. Analysis of various factors showed that low birth weight, lesser duration of breast feeding, low education level of mother, over crowding and low socio economic status were significantly associated with under nutrition assessed by CIAF.Conclusions: CIAF provides the actual prevalence or proportion of undernourished children in a community. So CIAF must be included in regular recordings of health status of children. The study also reinforces the importance of appropriate maternal care, proper infant and child feeding practices and family planning services in prevention of under nutrition.

Anthropometric Status among 6⁻9-Year-Old School Children in Rural Areas in Hai Phong City, Vietnam.

A double burden of malnutrition in Vietnamese children has emerged as a key challenge: childhood undernutrition remains a public health concern while childhood overweight/obesity has gradually increased. This study aimed to (1) estimate the prevalence of undernutrition and overnutrition among 6–9-year-old primary school children in rural areas of Vietnam, and (2) identify sociodemographic factors associated with undernutrition and overnutrition in this population. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in October 2016 in 2334 children from eight primary schools in rural areas in Hai Phong City, Vietnam. Anthropometric and demographic data were collected. The prevalence of underweight, stunting, wasting, and anthropometric failure was 8.0%, 5.1%, 5.3%, and 11.9%, respectively. Up to 22.1% of children were affected by overweight/obesity, and 31.0% by abdominal overweight/obesity. Low maternal education was associated with higher odds of underweight and anthropometric failure, whereas overweight/obesity or abdominal overweight/obesity were more likely in boys and children of mothers with a high education level. This study provides evidence for a double burden of diseases among primary school children in rural areas in Hai Phong City. Future interventions for the prevention and control of childhood undernutrition and overweight/obesity should take into account child sex and maternal education level.

Assessment of nutritional status by composite index of anthropometric failure (CIAF): a study among preschool children of Sagar Block, South 24 Parganas District, West Bengal, India

Being a developing nation, rural India is still facing a serious health problem in form of undernutrition particularly among young children. To optimize this problem, the Central Government has been operating a nationwide nutritional intervention programme in the form of Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) scheme. Unfortunately, it has failed to achieve the desired goal during last four decades. Therefore the present study was designed to measure the seriousness and severity of overall undernutrition using Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) among the rural Bengalee preschool children of Sagar Block, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 656 preschool children (326 boys and 330 girls) aged 3 to 5 years. Height (cm) and weight (kg) measurements were taken according to standard procedure, age and sex specific 2 z-scores values of height-for-age, weight-for-height and weight-for-age were used to assess stunting, wasting and underweight, respectively, as per the World Health Organization Guidelines. CIAF was also computed as per standard methodology to assess the degree of undernutrition among the studied children. The overall age and sex combined prevalence of stunting, wasting, underweight and CIAF was 26.2%, 35.4%, 51.1% and 61.3%, respectively. CIAF showed a higher prevalence of undernutrition (61.28%) in comparison to other three indicators i.e., stunting, wasting and underweight. We conclude that the nutritional status of the subjects was not satisfactory. It was also established that the CIAF is a better indicator of nutritional status than traditional measures of stunting, wasting and underweight, because it determines overall (total) anthropometric failure.

Assessment of under nutrition with composite index of anthropometric failure (CIAF) among under-five children in a rural area of West Bengal, India

Background: Malnutrition among under-five children is an important public health problem in developing countries, and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in India, hence the present study was conducted to find out the nutritional status of under-five children and to elicit the factors associated with it.Methods: This community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 142 under-five children during May to June 2017 in the areas under the jurisdiction of Nasibpur Primary Health Centre, Singur, West Bengal, India. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, feeding habits and other biological factors were obtained from structured questionnaire, followed by anthropometric measurement. Assessment of nutritional status of the children was done with the help of Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF). Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were performed to analyse the data by using SPSS version 16.0.Results: The mean (standard deviation) age of the sample was 28.4 (±15.2) months. About 36.1% children were found to have anthropometric failure using CIAF (wasting only 2.1%, wasting and underweight 14.5%, wasting, stunting and underweight 5.5%, stunting and underweight 6.3%, stunting only 4.9%, underweight only 2.8%). Education of mother [AOR = 3.6 (1.2–10.8)], birth order [AOR = 3.7 (1.4-9.9)], and exclusive breast feeding practice [AOR = 7.3 (2.9–18.1)] remained the significant correlates when adjusted with other variables in the multivariable analysis.Conclusions: The high prevalence of malnutrition in the community requires multipronged approach regarding nutritional education, intensive information education and communication (IEC) activities for exclusive breast feeding through antenatal clinics and adoption of family planning methods.

Composite index of anthropometric failure among under 5 children attending the Immunoprophylaxis clinic in a tertiary care hospital in Nagpur, Maharashtra, India

Background: Under nutrition is a global public health problem. There are numerous methods of assessment of malnutrition among which CIAF is the most recent, relatively robust since it envisages all the parameters for estimation of nutritional status of the children. So, this study was conducted to find the rates of composite index of anthropometric failure in the children attending the Immunoprophylaxis clinic in a tertiary care hospital of Nagpur and to find associations with the socio demographic variables.Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Immunoprophylaxis clinic of a tertiary care institute in Nagpur from September 2016 to January 2017. The study subjects were the children attending the OPD of Immunoprophylaxis clinic of a tertiary care hospital. Necessary permissions were taken before the start of the study. Data was collected using pretested and pre-designed questionnaire. Height and weight were measured using standard guidelines and categorized into groups of CIAF as described by Nandy et al.Results: A total of 460 study subjects were enrolled in the study. The mean age group of the study subjects was 2.47±1.56 years. According to the grades of CIAF, 48.51% were having no failure. Age and gender were factors which were associated with failure status by CIAF.Conclusions: We found high rates of anthropometric failure in our study. The age groups less than 3 years had higher odds of being in failure when compared to more than 3 years age. Further, males had higher odds of being into failure when compared to females. Community based studies are recommended.

Dietary diversity and anthropometric status and failure among infants and young children in Sri Lanka.

We investigate the association between child dietary diversity and anthropometric status and failure in Sri Lanka while accounting for other child and household factors by employing multivariable logistic and linear regression analyses. Using a nationally representative survey of children ages 6 mo to 59 mo, child dietary diversity was based on the 24-h recall of a child's food intake across seven food groups. The minimum dietary diversity was a score of four or above. Anthropometric status (i.e., height for age (HAZ), weight for age, and weight for height z-scores) and failure (i.e., stunting, wasting, and underweight) were calculated. The prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight was 15%, 21%, and 26%, respectively. The prevalence of inadequate dietary diversity was 9%. Child dietary diversity was positively associated with HAZ (b = 0.02; standard error = 0.01; P = 0.04) but not with any indicator of anthropometric failure. However, low birth weight, wealth, and location were strong risk factors for anthropometric status and failure. Analyses stratified by child age indicated that dietary diversity was positively associated with anthropometric status for children ages 24 mo to 59 mo (HAZ: b = 0.03; standard error = 0.01; P = 0.02). Mixed associations were found for children ages 6 mo to 12 mo and there were no associations for children ages 12 mo to 24 mo. Child dietary diversity predicted anthropometric status among children ages ≥24 mo. Interventions to address both proximal and distal risk factors for anthropometric status may be necessary in Sri Lanka to reduce anthropometric failure among infants and young children.

Variation in Anthropometric Status and Growth Failure in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Addressing anthropometric failure in low- and middle-income countries can have 2 targets of inference: addressing differences between individuals within populations (Wpop) or differences between populations (Bpop). We present a multilevel framework to apply both targets of inference simultaneously and quantify the extent to which variation in anthropometric status and growth failure is reflective of undernourished children or undernourished populations. Cross-sectional data originated from the Demographic and Health Surveys program, covering children under age 5 from 57 countries surveyed between 2001 and 2015. A majority of variation in child anthropometric status and growth failure was attributable to Wpop-associated differences, accounting for 89%, 83%, and 85% of the variability in z scores for height for age, weight for age, and weight for height. Bpop-associated differences (communities, regions, and countries combined) were associated with 11%, 17%, and 15% of the variation in height-for-age z score, weight-for-age z score, and weight-for-height z score. Prevalence of anthropometric failure was closely correlated with mean levels of height and weight. Approximately 1% of Wpop variability, compared with 30% to 50% of the Bpop variability, was explained by mean values of maternal correlates of anthropometric status and failure. Although there is greater explanatory power Bpop, this varied because of modifiability of what constitutes population. Our results suggest that universal strategies to prevent future anthropometric failure in populations combined with targeted strategies to address both the impending and existing burden among children are needed.