Testing of two score systems for the diagnosis of malnutrition

Two score systems, one for the diagnosis of obesity and another for diagnosing undernutrition were tested in thirteen overweight and seven underweight children aged five years and preliminarily classified as malnourished. These score-systems included indicators grouped into three categories, those which evaluate total body mass changes (one-point group); those which assess fatness (two-point group); and those which assess fatness and/or body composition through complex indices (three-point group). Indicators such as Energy/Protein Index, AKS Index, Somatotype ratings, and Somatotype Dispersion Distances were included in the third group and played an important role in the final score. A subject was classified as malnourished if he reached 80% of the maximum possible score. According to these criteria, only six among the thirteen overweight children could be considered obese and none of the seven underweight ones could be classified as undernourished. Mild or moderate overweight or underweight may be misleading and an incorrect diagnosis of either obesity or undernutrition can be made if the possibility of constitutional corpulence or thinness is not taken into account.