KAJIAN PERBEDAAN PREVALENSI BALITA KURUS DAN PENDEK MENURUT STANDAR WHO 2005 DIBANDING NCHS: Analisis Data SKRT 2004

Abstract

THE DIFFERENCE IN THE PREVALENCE OF WASTING AND STUNTING IN CHLIDREN AGE
0-59 MONTHS BY USING NCHS AND NEW WHO ANTHROPOMETRIC STANDARD:
Re-analysis of Indonesian Household Health Survey 2004

WHO introduced new Child Growth Standard for children 0 – 60 months of age in the early 2006
based on Multi-Centre Growth Reference Study (MGRS) in 6 countries: Brazil, Ghana, India,
Norway, Oman and the United States of America involving healthy children living in healthy
environment that provide possibility for them to grow according to their genetic potential. WHO
recommended that the standard be used as a new anthropometric reference replacing the existing
NCHS-WHO child growth reference. However, some experts demand to evaluate the standard,
before Indonesia adopts it in the nutrition program. This paper tries to compare the consequence
of adopting new WHO standard to the magnitude of stunting and wasting. The main objective of
the paper is to re-analyze the existing anthropometric data on children aged 0-59 months by using
both NCHS-WHO reference and new WHO standard on the prevalence of wasting (W/L or W/H)
and stunting (H/A). This re-analysis is based on anthropometric data of 3,316 children age below 5
years old from Household Health Survey 2004. Child weight and length/height were converted into
z-scores of W/H and H/A by using both NCHS and new WHO Growth Standard, and compared the
prevalence of wasting and stunting. The results showed that the prevalence stunting is higher by
using new WHO Growth Standard (28.6%) compared to that by using NCHS growth references
(24.1%). The difference in the prevalence varied between sex from 4.5-4.7% and across age
groups from 1.3-9.2%. Similar results also found for the prevalence of wasting. The prevalence of
wasting by using WHO Growth Standard and NCHS growth references was 15.1% and 13.8%
respectively. The difference in the prevalence varied between sex from 0.8-2.1% and across age
groups which varied fourfold (21.0% and 5.6%) for children age below 6 month old and only 1.7%
for children age 48-59 month old.

Keywords: anthropometric standard, stunted, wasted, height for age, weight for height