F&N Bulletin Vol 23 No 1b - United Nations University

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Soekirman et al.
stunting (height-for-age), and obesity (BMI) status.
However, data from only 1,245 children could be
analyzed for wasting (based on weight-for-height)
status, because of the limitation of the weight-forheight
reference in the WHO publication (female up
to 137 cm and male up to 145 cm). There were 890
children in West Jakarta and 477 children in Bogor.
Mean weight and height
Table 1 indicates that at the ages of 8 and 9, boys were
heavier than girls. However, by the age of 10 years, girls
were about 1 kg heavier than boys. The same pattern
is also shown for mean height. At ages 8 and 9, boys
were taller than girls, but at age 10 girls were about 1.5
cm taller than boys. The weight and height data of the
schoolchildren from this study follow Tanner’s velocity
curves, in which girls begin their adolescent growth
spurt (especially height) earlier than boys [13].
For all ages and for both sexes, private schoolchildren
were heavier and taller than public schoolchildren.
This is expected, because school status (private
or public) is a proxy for social and economic status of
the parents. Private school parents are economically
and socially better off than parents of public schoolchildren.
Figure 1 shows that, on average, the weights
and heights of private schoolchildren were equal to or
greater than the international/WHO-NCHS growth
standard, whereas those of public schoolchildren were
far below the international standard.
An attempt was made to compare the growth pattern
of the schoolchildren with those found in a similar
study carried out in private schools in Bandung
(the capital city of West Java province) in 1978 [14].
There is a trend toward improving physical stature of
the schoolchildren born in later years. The younger
children are better off than their older fellows. As
indicated in the Bandung study, two decades ago the
physical stature of schoolchildren at the same age
was much lower than that in the present study. The
children in our study have been benefiting from a
better social and economic environment.
Mean Z score and prevalence of underweight and
overweight based on weight-for-age indicator
Table 2 displays the mean value of weight-for-age Z
scores and the prevalence of underweight (< –2 SD
weight-for-age). In general, the mean weight-for-age
Z score for both boys and girls indicated that the
nutritional status of private schoolchildren was better
than that of public schoolchildren. The total mean
values of weight-for-age Z scores of boys and girls
in public schools were –0.93 and –0.84, respectively,
whereas those of children in private schools were 0.24
and –0.18. However, the standard deviations for all
of these mean values were large. As a consequence,
some children fell below –2 SD and some above 2 SD.
Underweight was more prevalent among children in
public schools than among those in private schools.
TABLE 1. Weight and height of children according to age, sex, and type of school
Mean ± SD Mean ± SD
Age and sex School n weight (kg) height (cm)
8 yr
Male Public 162 23.43 ± 5.20 124.20 ± 6.33
Private 73 27.09 ± 7.63 127.12 ± 7.21
Both types 235 24.57 ± 6.22 125.11 ± 6.74
Female Public 164 23.40 ± 4.86 123.20 ± 5.86
Private 76 25.94 ± 7.36 125.95 ± 6.51
Both types 240 24.20 ± 5.87 124.07 ± 6.51
9 yr
Male Public 152 25.03 ± 5.39 127.08 ± 5.79
Private 75 31.21 ± 9.83 132.30 ± 7.79
Both types 227 27.07 ± 7.72 128.80 ± 8.12
Female Public 159 24.01 ± 3.94 125.90 ± 8.12
Private 75 27.56 ± 6.44 131.13 ± 7.54
Both types 234 25.14 ± 5.15 127.58 ± 8.29
10 yr
Male Public 159 26.34 ± 4.87 131.80 ± 8.50
Private 66 34.50 ± 12.04 136.06 ± 7.87
Both types 225 28.73 ± 8.52 133.05 ± 8.53
Female Public 135 27.89 ± 6.15 133.12 ± 7.63
Private 71 33.25 ± 8.29 137.9 ± 8.24
Both types 206 29.74 ± 7.39 134.52 ± 8.06