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Seasonal aspects of weight-for-age in young children in Zimbabwe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Jim Wright ,
P Vazé ,
G Russell ,
SW Gundry ,
A Ferro-Luzzi ,
P Mucavele  and
J Nyatsanza
Jim Wright*
Affiliation:
Institute of Ecology and Resource Management, University of Edinburgh, Agriculture Building, West Mains Road, King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK
P Vazé
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg, PO Box WITS 2050, South Africa
G Russell
Affiliation:
Institute of Ecology and Resource Management, University of Edinburgh, Agriculture Building, West Mains Road, King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK
SW Gundry
Affiliation:
Institute of Ecology and Resource Management, University of Edinburgh, Agriculture Building, West Mains Road, King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK
A Ferro-Luzzi
Affiliation:
National Institute of Nutrition, Via Ardeatina 546, I-00178, Rome, Italy
P Mucavele
Affiliation:
Department of Child Life and Health, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK
J Nyatsanza
Affiliation:
Institute of Food, Nutrition, and Family Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, MP167 Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe
*
*Corresponding author: Email [email protected]
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Abstract

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Objective:

To identify the season with the highest prevalence of underweight among young children and to examine geographical variation in seasonality of underweight.

Design:

This analysis is based on monthly data from a clinic-based growth monitoring programme that forms part of the National Health Information System. A regression-based technique is used to identify seasonal patterns in both underweight prevalence and attendance nationally and in 60 different districts.

Setting:

The analysis covers the period 1988–1995 and is based in Zimbabwe.

Subjects:

The analysis is based on weight-for-age measurements of Zimbabwean children less than 5 years old, who attended health centres as part of a growth monitoring programme.

Results:

Nationally, a small but significant increase in levels of underweight takes place during January–March. Participation in growth monitoring also varies seasonally and could account for the increase observed. No evidence of seasonal variation in underweight prevalence is found in the majority of districts studied, although 11 of the districts showed a similar pattern to the national data set. This peak in the incidence of poor nutritional status also coincides with the period of food scarcity before harvest, which is also associated with higher prevalence of diarrhoea and malaria. No differences in seasonality of under-nutrition were found between districts with predominantly subsistence agriculture and those with more commercial forms of agriculture.

Conclusions:

Seasonal variation in child weight-for-age exists in some parts of Zimbabwe, but its effects on cross-sectional prevalence studies are likely to be small. There are no readily discernible differences between areas that show evidence of seasonality in levels of underweight and those that do not.

Keywords

SeasonalityWeight-for-ageGrowth monitoringZimbabwe
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 4 , Issue 3 , June 2001 , pp. 757 - 764
Copyright
Copyright © CABI Publishing 2001

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