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Prevalence and determinants of stunting and overweight in 3-year-old black South African children residing in the Central Region of Limpopo Province, South Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Ramoteme L Mamabolo ,
Marianne Alberts ,
Nelia P Steyn ,
Henriette A Delemarre-van de Waal  and
Naomi S Levitt
Ramoteme L Mamabolo*
Affiliation:
Medical Sciences Programme, University of Limpopo, Sovenga, South Africa Chronic Diseases of Lifestyle Unit, Medical Research Council, PO Box 19070, Tygerberg, Cape Town, 7505, South Africa
Marianne Alberts
Affiliation:
Medical Sciences Programme, University of Limpopo, Sovenga, South Africa
Nelia P Steyn
Affiliation:
Chronic Diseases of Lifestyle Unit, Medical Research Council, PO Box 19070, Tygerberg, Cape Town, 7505, South Africa
Henriette A Delemarre-van de Waal
Affiliation:
Pediatric Endocrinology, Vrije University Medical Centre, Vrije University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Naomi S Levitt
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
*
*Corresponding author: Email Lesley.mamabolo@mrc.ac.za
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Abstract

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Objectives

To determine the prevalence of stunting, wasting and overweight and their determinants in 3-year-old children in the Central Region of Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Design

Prospective cohort study.

Setting

Rural villages in the Central Region of the Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Subjects

One hundred and sixty-two children who were followed from birth were included in the study. Anthropometric measurements and sociodemographic characteristics of the children were recorded.

Results

Height-for-age Z-scores were low, with a high prevalence of stunting (48%). The children also exhibited a high prevalence of overweight (22%) and obesity (24%). Thirty-one (19%) children were both stunted and overweight. Gaining more weight within the first year of life increased the risk of being overweight at 3 years by 2.39 times (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.96–4.18) while having a greater length at 1 year was protective against stunting (odds ratio (OR) 0.41; 95% CI 0.17–0.97). Having a mother as a student increased the risk for stunting at 3 years by 18.21 times (95% CI 9.46–34.74) while having a working mother increased the risk for overweight by 17.87 times (95% CI 8.24–38.78). All these factors also appeared as risks or as being protective in children who were both overweight and stunted, as did living in a household having nine or more persons (OR 5.72; 95% CI 2.7–12.10).

Conclusion

The results of this study highlight the importance of evaluating anthropometric status in terms of both stunting and overweight. Furthermore, it is important to realise the importance of normal length and weight being attained at 1 year of age, since these in turn predict nutritional status at 3 years of age.

Keywords

StuntingOverweightDeterminantsRisk factorsSociodemographic factorsChildren
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 8 , Issue 5 , August 2005 , pp. 501 - 508
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2005

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