Nutritional stunting

Nutritional stunting is a common problem of the pediatric population especially in developing countries. Although it is a resolvable problem, it continues to be an important health issue. Stunting can be diagnosed when a child's height falls more than two standard deviations below the mean height for age. Stunting may be caused by genetic, hormonal, pharmaceutical, psychosocial and nutritional factors. Before doing extensive laboratory tests, nutritional factors must be searched for at the time of diagnosis. If the etiology is nutritional deficiency, meticulous dietary regulation must be done. The results of treatment must be assessed for guiding the nutritional rehabilitation during follow up. Here we review the interaction of wasting and nutritional stunting; the prevalence of nutritional stunting; diet components and growth; the pathophysiology of stunting; periods of accelerated growth; the diagnosis and clinical assessment of nutritional stunting; the anthropometric and laboratory nutritional indices that can be used at the time of diagnosis and for follow-up purposes during rehabilitation and also the management of nutritional stunting.