February 16, 2010PEDIATRICS
Worldwide Timing of Growth Faltering: Revisiting Implications for Interventions
Key Points
- To assess the global timing and severity of early childhood growth faltering using World Health Organization standards compared with historical reference data.
- Analyzed child growth patterns across 54 countries.
- Benchmarked growth patterns against the World Health Organization (WHO) child growth standards.
- Compared outcomes with previous global estimates derived from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reference.
- Growth faltering during early childhood is more pronounced under WHO child growth standards than previously indicated by the NCHS reference.
- Identified pregnancy and the first 2 years of life as the primary window of opportunity for nutritional and health interventions, underscoring the prevention of low birth weight and implementation of appropriate infant feeding.
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Implication
Comparative analysis demonstrates severe early childhood growth faltering across 54 countries, highlighting the need to prioritize interventions during pregnancy and the first two years of life.
Cite This Study
Victora et al. (2010) studied this question.