Growth faltering in Madura, Indonesia: a comparison with the NCHS reference and data from Kasongo, Zaire

Weight and height data of Madurese children from two longitudinal studies, the East Java Pregnancy Studies I and II, are analyzed cross-sectionally and compared with the NCHS reference and a rural population in Kasongo, Zaire. A total of 1945 children are included in the analysis, giving 25,202 weight and 17,196 height measurements. Madurese children start to accumulate a weight deficit compared with NCHS data at the age of 4 months. A linear deficit is already noticeable at 1 month, increasing rapidly in the 1st year of life. This period is responsible for most of the linear deficit accumulated by the age of 5 years. Madurese children are relatively fatter than NCHS children up to the age of 12 months. Comparing the Madurese children with those in Kasongo reveals that the accumulation of their linear deficit occurs at a period when weight increments follow those of Kasongo. Since in the studied population food intake and breastfeeding could not explain the growth dynamics in the 1st year of life, it is suggested that the explanation may lie in micro-nutrient deficiency and intra-uterine development.