Revisiting the stunting metric for monitoring and evaluating nutrition policies
S. V. Subramanian, Omar Karlsson, Rockli Kim
Abstract
Globally, as well as in India, the prevalence of stunting is a commonly used metric to quantify undernutrition among children. Stunting prevalence is the proportion of children younger than 5 years who are too short for their age, according to the 2006 WHO growth standard, constructed from the Multi Growth Reference Study (MGRS).1 Using the MGRS standard, around 38% of children in India are stunted.2 This metric is also used by countries to monitor the effect of current policies that are in place to reduce the child undernutrition burden.
Topics & Concepts
Metric (unit)Environmental healthMetric systemGeographyPolitical scienceEconomic growthMedicineBusinessEconomicsPhysicsMarketingAstronomyChild Nutrition and Water AccessPoverty, Education, and Child Welfare