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Anthropometric measurements of infants and under five children in Riyadh City
Mohammed Saleh Al-Jassir1, Bushra El Bashir
1Nutrition Department, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. mohnut@yahoo.com
Insights
Pediatric malnutrition in Riyadh remains a concern, with 4.5% of children moderately underweight. Despite health education, growth falters post-six months, indicating a need for improved nutritional strategies.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Public Health Surveillance
- Child Growth Monitoring
Background:
- Ongoing pediatric nutrition surveillance in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- Study includes 21,507 infants and children under five.
- Addresses the prevalence and patterns of malnutrition in a key demographic.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess pediatric nutrition status in Riyadh.
- To identify trends in child growth and malnutrition over 13 years.
- To explore factors contributing to malnutrition and evaluate intervention effectiveness.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional analysis of surveillance data from ten primary health centers.
- Inclusion of anthropometric measurements (weight, height) and birth weight data.
- Comparison of growth patterns against National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) standards.
Main Results:
- Mean birth weight was 3027g, with 8.6% low birth weight infants.
- No significant changes in weight and height trends over 13 years.
- 4.5% moderate and 0.8% severe underweight prevalence; growth slower than NCHS post-six months.
Conclusions:
- Malnutrition prevalence is moderately high in Saudi Arabia, despite economic factors.
- Reproductive, social, and genetic factors may contribute to malnutrition.
- Nutrition and health education programs show some success, but comprehensive education is needed.
Abstract:
The data presented in this paper are part of the ongoing pediatric nutrition surveillance in ten primary health centers from Riyadh City. A total of 21,507 infants and children under five were included. The mean birth weight was 3027 g, and 8.6% of the children had low birth weights. The measurements showed that there had been no obvious change in the weights and heights of children during the past 13 years. In our results the children classified as moderate and severely underweight were 4.5% and 0.8% respectively. The data showed the average growth of all infants, regardless of feeding pattern, was same or faster than the NCHS reference population, up to approximately six months of age after which their growth became slower than that of the NCHS standards. The prevalence of malnutrition in Saudi Arabia is moderately high, in spite of the high per capita income, and the fact that the government subsidizes locally produced and imported food items. The malnutrition among this age group may be attributed to reproductive or social behavior and genetic factors. The reduction of malnutrition in the last ten years could be largely due to the nutrition and health education programs. There is a need for more comprehensive nutritional health education among the local population.