Study of anthropometric indices used in identifying beneficiaries of food supplementation programmes

Abstract

Anthropometric data obtained by measuring school children in the second year in school in a defined area was used to study the relative usefulness of the commonly used anthrometric indices and modes of presentation. Indices using height, though providing more information, seem not very practicable to be determined routinely at field level. An identifying beneficiaries of an intervention programme. It seems most appropriate to use the index weight for age and consider those below the third percentile to be the beneficiaries of such programmes, as this is likely to identify almost all moderately and severely undernourished. Such an identification is important as a preventive and promotive activity aimed at reducing the problem of undernutrition among children.