Preschool Anthropometric evaluation – comparison between two referenciais: NCHS 2000 and OMS 2005

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze and compare growing deficits and overweight differences in children from 0 to 60 months from two different references: NCHS 2000 and WHO 2005. Methods: 119 children of the pediatric ambulatory of Hospital Universitário de Brasília (HUB) were weighted and measured. Weight and Height were measured and analyzed with the program Anthro 2005. Odds Ratio was calculated to evaluate the differences between the patterns WHO 2005 and NCHS 2000. Mother’s demographic data were collected and analyzed in SPSS 13.0. Wasting, Stunting and Overweight are high in this population independently of the reference used for diagnosis, although they were higher when OMS curves were applied. The new WHO curves are more representative of children around the world and are capable to diagnose malnutrition earlier. Therefore, they should be used immediately for overweight and stunting diagnoses, substituting the NCHS reference.