Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 7, 2026

Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts
Published on: January 29, 2018
Limitations of anthropometry during acute food shortages: high mortality can mask refugees' deteriorating nutritional
P Nieburg1, A M Berry, R W Steketee
1Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A Department of Nutrition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, U.K Commission on Refugees, Government of Sudan, Khartoum, Sudan.
Abstract:
Longitudinal comparison of anthropometric data from cross-sectional surveys is commonly used to assess nutritional status in relief operations. In a refugee camp in Sudan, assessment indicated a high level of childhood malnutrition, but nutritional status appeared relatively unchanged between cluster sample surveys in January (26.3% below 80% of median weight-for-height) and March 1985 (28.4% below 80% of median weight-for-height). However, in this interval, which was marked by irregular food supplies and relatively low energy (calorie) intake as well as by a high incidence of diarrhoeal disease and measles, nearly 13% of all children in the camp died. This deceptive appearance of stability in nutritional status in the face of high mortality may be explained by ongoing nutritional deterioration ("replacement malnutrition") among surviving children. These findings demonstrate that collection and analysis of mortality data are essential for the correct interpretation of anthropometric results during periods of uncertain food supply.
Related Concept Videos
Anorexia Nervosa
Symptoms and Physical Effects
Individuals with anorexia nervosa commonly exhibit extreme...
Acute Respiratory Failure-IV
Nature and Nurture
Pharmacokinetics in Obese Patients: Drug Absorption and Distribution
Drug Dosing: Obese Patients
Overview of Protein Metabolism
Amino acids play various roles in the body once they are absorbed into cells. They are restructured...