Comparison of Nutrition Status as Assessed by Revised IAP 2015 Growth Charts and CDC 2000 Growth Charts in Lower Socioeconomic Class School Children

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Nutritional Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Accurate assessment of child nutrition status is crucial for early intervention.
• Different growth charts may yield varying prevalence rates for malnutrition and obesity.
• Socioeconomic factors can influence nutritional status in school-aged children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the nutritional status of Indian school children using the Revised IAP 2015 and CDC 2000 growth charts.
• To evaluate the agreement between these two widely used growth charting systems.
• To determine the prevalence of overweight/obesity, thinness, and stunting based on each chart.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of anthropometric data from 4011 school children (ages 5-16) in Chennai.
• Data retrieval from school health records, with measurements taken per standard guidelines.
• Calculation of Z scores and assessment of inter-chart agreement using the kappa coefficient.

Main Results:

• The IAP 2015 charts indicated a 12.2% prevalence of overweight/obesity, 9.8% thinness, and 9% stunting.
• The CDC 2000 charts showed 7.3% overweight/obesity, 41.7% thinness, and 23% stunting.
• Minimal agreement (kappa=0.314) for BMI-for-age and weak agreement (kappa=0.497) for height-for-age were observed.

Conclusions:

• The Revised IAP 2015 growth charts identify a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity in Indian children compared to CDC 2000 charts.
• The CDC 2000 growth charts identify a higher prevalence of stunting and thinness.
• Discrepancies highlight the importance of selecting appropriate growth charts for accurate nutritional assessment in specific populations.