Comparison of Prevalence of Nutritional Status of Thai Children in the First 2 Years of Life Using National and International Growth Charts

Abstract

Objective: Identify the difference of the nutritional status of Thai children from birth to 24 months of age using the national and international growth charts. Material and Method: The analytic sample was of 4,224 children from the Prospective Cohort Study of Thai Children (PCTC). Age-specific prevalence of malnutrition was estimated using the NCHS, WHO, and Thai growth charts. Results: Rapid growth faltering was found in both genders during the first two years, regardless of the reference, but the Thai charts reflected better Thai children. When using the Thai and NCHS charts, a steep fluctuation was observed in infancy, although the prevalence of wasting, underweight, and overweight between the references became narrower at 24 months. Meanwhile, the WHO standards identified a higher number of stunted children and showed a linear increasing trend of overweight with age, compared to the Thai reference. Conclusion: Although the Thai growth charts better reflect the Thai children, in consideration of a double burden of stunting and overweight in Thailand, the WHO standards can be used to identify Thai children at risk of stunting and overweight in the first two years of life.