Underweight Children (underweight + child)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Asthma symptoms in rural living Tanzanian children; prevalence and the relation to aerobic fitness and body fat

ALLERGY, Issue 8 2009
S. Berntsen
Objective:, To determine the prevalence of asthma symptoms in children from a rural district in North-Tanzania, and their relationship to aerobic fitness and body fat. Methods:, In Manyara region in Tanzania, children (aged 9,10 years) were randomly selected to participate in the present cross-sectional study. Hundred and seventy two participants completed a video questionnaire showing the symptoms and signs of asthma. Lung function was measured by maximum forced expiratory flow-volume curves. Aerobic fitness was estimated from a standardized indirect maximal cycle ergometer test and sum of three skinfolds reflected body fat. Results:, Twenty four per cent reported asthma symptoms last year. Severe wheezing attacks last year were reported in 5% of the participants. Thirty seven per cent of the participants were underweight. Underweight children had significantly lower (P < 0.02) lung function (per cent of predicted). Lower body fat was associated with higher occurrence of asthma symptoms (odds ratio and 95% CI; 0.45 (0.22,0.95; P = 0.04). Aerobic fitness was not associated with asthma symptoms. Conclusions:, More than every fifth 9,10 year old child from a rural district in North-Tanzania reported asthma symptoms. Lower body fat was associated with higher occurrence of asthma symptoms, but aerobic fitness was not associated with asthma symptoms. [source]


THE DETERMINANTS OF GRADE ATTAINMENT IN LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES: EVIDENCE FROM RURAL BANGLADESH

THE DEVELOPING ECONOMIES, Issue 4 2004
Hayfa GRIRA
This paper presents an econometric analysis of the effects of child health on school enrollment and grade attainment in Bungladesh. It improves on past studies in a number of ways mainly by incorporating into its analysis the endogenous nature of child health. The results challenge the conclusions found in the literature. First, it finds that in Bangladesh, a child's health and his/her probability of being enrolled in school are at best weakly related. Second, it shows that once enrolled, nutritional deficiencies retard substantially school progress: Underweight children tend to be in lower grades than well-fed children of the same age. It is estimated that a one standard deviation improvement in weight-for-age would be expected to reduce the grades behind by about 0.25 years or about 13.5 percent of the actual years completed. Finally, the estimates suggest that the weight-for-age indicator appears as the best predictor of nutritional status. [source]


Making Nutrition Services Work for Socially Excluded Groups: Lessons from the Integrated Nutrition and Health Project

IDS BULLETIN, Issue 4 2009
Mukesh Kumar
A relatively large proportion of India's underweight children belong to groups facing multiple disadvantages. Addressing child malnutrition among these communities is critical if India is to eliminate undernutrition and achieve the MDG goals. This article draws evidence from the Integrated Nutrition and Health Project II (INHP-II), a USAID funded project, implemented by CARE in India, to show how, by ensuring universal service coverage, a programme can enhance equity and inclusion. INHP-approaches such as: Nutrition and health days (NHD); prioritising home contacts; system strengthening; community participation; tracking left-out children; enhancing convergence and coverage of nutritional and health services, all help to improve nutritional outcomes among all sections of society, particularly socially excluded groups. [source]


Appropriate laryngeal mask airway size for overweight and underweight children

ANAESTHESIA, Issue 1 2010
H. J. Kim
Summary The aim of this study was to compare conventional laryngeal mask airway sizing by weight with sizing by age in over- or underweight children. We studied 26 overweight (body mass index > 85th centile) and 26 underweight (body mass index < 15th centile) children. After general anaesthesia was induced, laryngeal mask airways sized by the patient's weight and by an ideal weight (estimated from the patient's age according to standardised tables) were inserted consecutively. In overweight children, oropharyngeal leak pressure was significantly greater when the laryngeal mask was sized by the patient's actual weight. On the other hand in underweight children, it was significantly greater when sized by the ideal weight. In conclusion, laryngeal mask airway sizing according to the manufacturer's weight-based recommendation is to be preferred in overweight children, but laryngeal mask airway size by an ideal weight estimated from the patient's age is a better choice in underweight children. [source]


Day type and the relationship between weight status and sleep duration in children and adolescents

AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 2 2010
Tim Olds
Abstract Objective: This study aimed to explore sleep duration in young Australians on different types of days across weight classes. Methods: Use of time and anthropometric data were collected on 8,866 nights from 3,884 9,18 year old Australians. The association between sleep duration and weight status was examined using factorial ANOVA for four day types: S-S (to bed and waking on school days); S-NS (to bed on school day and waking on non-school day); NS-NS (to bed and waking on non-school days); NS-S (to bed on non-school day and waking on school day). Results: Sleep duration varied with weight status when all day types were considered together (p=0.0012). Obese adolescents slept less than normal and underweight adolescents. However, the relationship varied for different day types; with the strongest relationship for NS-S days (on which obese children slept 65 min less than very underweight children, p<0.0001). Conclusions: The association between weight status and sleep duration showed consistent gradients across weight categories, but only for certain day types. Implications: These patterns cast light on the direction of causation in the obesity-sleep duration relationship. Findings suggest that short sleep duration contributes to obesity, or that a third unidentified factor has an impact on both. [source]