Stunting and tissue depletion in Yemeni children

With the aim of assessing whether stunting was associated with depletion of labile tissues such as fat and muscle as an indicator of ongoing malnutrition, we investigated 1176 children 0-7 years of age in PDR Yemen, who participated in a national nutrition survey conducted in 1982-3 and its pilot study from 1978. Arm circumference and triceps fatfold have been measured and upper arm fat area (UFA) and upper arm muscle area (UMA) were calculated to estimate the body stores of fat and muscle. Stunting, defined as a stature shorter than -2 SD of the reference mean, was found in one-third of the children. The average length/height for age deviated progressively from the reference mean up to age group 12-15 months. Exclusively breast-fed infants also deviated in length, although less conspicuously than infants fed in other ways. There was a consistent pattern of smaller UFA and UMA in stunted children compared to equally tall children who were not stunted below 84 cm of height for boys and 102 cm for girls. The difference was statistically significant in a few of the height groups. It is suggested that stunting is accompanied by a slight reduction of fat and muscle tissues during the first years of life.