Comparison of NCHS-1977, CDC-2000 and WHO-2006 Nutritional Classification in 32 to 60 month-old Children in the Central Highlands of Peru (1992-2007)

Objective. The aim is to compare the three references used for the classification of the nutritional status of 36 to 60 month-old children in Huancayo province (Peru). For a long time, NCHS-1977 reference has been used for child growth monitoring, recently the new WHO-2006 Child Growth Standards is being used, and CDC-2000 reference usage has been restricted. Methods. Data collected from 2640 children over the period 1992 to 2007 served as basis for determining the nutritional children status using Anthro V.3.0 and EpiInfo 6.04. Internationally cutoff points used in every assessed reference system helped to determine the nutritional status and to calculate the Z-scores of height-for-age, weight-for-age, weight-for-height and body mass index differentiated by sex. Results. The underweight, stunting and wasting percentages (period 992-2007), determined with NCHS-1977 reference were 8.4%, 28.8% and 0.9%; with CDC-2000 reference were 10.2%; 19.1% and 3.3%, and with WHO-2006 standard were 6.6%, 33.9% and 1.4% respectively. The overweight and obesity percentages determined with CDC-2000 standard were 11.4% and 4.20%, and with WHO-2006 standard were 8.0% and 0.9%, respectively. Conclusions. A more realistic and accurate detection of malnutrition prevalence in 36-to-60 month-old children from Huancayo province was carried out using the new WHO Child Growth Standard. Using the CDC-2000 standard is recommended in overweight monitoring cases.