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Chapter 5
ÐI SCUSSI ON
More children were identified as malnourished by the Ht/Age parameter
than those identified by the wt/Ht, suggesting that the proportion of
children suffering from chronic malnutrition, resulting in stunting were
higher than that of children with acute malnutrition, resulting in wasting.
Thj.s implied that chronic malnutrition was more prevalent than
acute malnutrition in the children surveyed and more children coulcl,
possibly, have been exposed to long term unfavorable nutritional environment
in the past. Deficit in Wt/Ht is an indicator of acute or current
mainutrition and deficit in Ht/Age indicates chronic or past nalnutriÈion
(rripp, 1981). Wasting of the body is a chracteristic of t^lt/Ht
deficits and a deficit in Ht/Àge is characterized by stunting or height
retardation ($¡aterlow, 1976).
The number of children identified as matnourished by the t^lt/Àge
parameter was almost two times greater than that identified by Wt/Ht.
This observation could be explained by the fact that wt/Àge does not
distinguish between current or acute and past or chronic malnutrition
and since it is sensitive to bolh forms of malnutrition. Thus, children
that were malnourished in the past (retarded height) but adequately
nourished currently and those adequately nourished in the past but with
current malnutrition could have been identified as malnourished by the
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wE/Age
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parameter.
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