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Objective: To investigate age and sex variations in undernutrition using mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) cut-off values among 2016 (930 boys and 1086 girls). 3-5 years old rural children of Bengalee ethnicity at 66 Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Centers of Nadia District, West Bengal, India. Methods: In a cross sectional study in west Bengal of India, MUAC was measured using standard technique. A total of 2028 children (935 boys and 1093 girls) from 66 ICDS centers were enrolled in this study. The response rate was approximately 95%. Findings: Mean MUAC among boys was higher than girls at all ages except 5 years. Significant sex differences were not observed over ages. The age-combined rates of overall (moderate and severe) undernutrition among boys (38.49%) was higher than among girls (32.22%).The agecombined rates of moderate undernutrition were 36.34% and 31.03% among boys and girls, respectively. The rates of severe undernutrition were 2.15% and 1.20% among boys and girls, respectively. There were sex differences in both moderate and severe undernutrition. In general, there was an increasing trend in the rates of overall undernutrition from 3 to 5 years in both sexes. Conclusion: These children were experiencing severe nutritional stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated age and sex variations in height and weight, levels of stunting, underweight and wasting among 533 (254 boys; 279 girls) 3- to 5-year-old rural children of Bengalee ethnicity at 11 Integrated Child Development Services centres of Nadia District, West Bengal, India. Height-for-age, weight-for-age and weight-for-height < −2 z-scores were used to evaluate stunting, underweight and wasting, respectively, following the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Guidelines. Results revealed that boys were significantly heavier than girls at age 3 years. Significant age differences existed in mean height and weight in both sexes. Mean z-scores of height-for-age, weight-for-age and weight-for-height were lower than those of NCHS for both sexes at all ages. The overall (age and sex combined) rates of stunting, underweight and wasting were 23.9%, 31.0% and 9.4%, respectively. The rate of underweight and wasting was higher among girls (underweight = 35.1%, wasting = 12.2%) compared with boys (underweight = 26.5%, wasting = 6.3%). In general, the frequency of stunting increased with increasing age in both sexes. Based on the World Health Organization classification of severity of malnutrition, the overall prevalence of underweight was very high (≥30%). The prevalence rates of stunting (20–29%) and wasting (5–9%) were medium. In conclusion, the nutritional status of the subjects is unsatisfactory. There is scope for improvement in the form of enhanced supplementary nutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]