Age patterns in stunting and anaemia in African schoolchildren: a cross-sectional study in Tanzania

To describe the nutritional status of schoolchildren from a rural area of Tanzania, with a particular emphasis on older adolescents to determine the timing of the growth spurt and differences by sex.

A cross-sectional survey using a randomly selected sample.

Six thousand eight hundred and one children aged 7-18 y randomly selected from those enrolled in standards 2-5 in 59 primary schools in Magu District, Tanzania.

Overall, 52.5% of children were stunted and 43.0% were underweight, with significantly more boys stunted and underweight than girls. Z-scores of height-for-age for both boys and girls decreased progressively between 7 and 12 y. After 12 y the height-for-age z-scores of girls show a marked upturn, whilst z-scores for boys continue to decrease throughout the school-aged years until 16 y when a slight upturn is observed. Anaemia (Hb<120 g/L) was present in 62.6% of children, with the prevalence decreasing with age. Anaemia improved throughout the school years for boys, but did not for girls. Age, sex and hookworm infection were significant predictors of anaemia.

Stunting and anaemia are exceptionally common conditions in African schoolchildren. The findings highlight important differences between boys and girls, which are suggestive of compensatory growth at 12 y for girls and at 16 y for boys, although it remains unclear whether boys will catch up in height at older ages.

Funding was provided by the Wellcome Trust. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) 54, 36-40