Stunted growth is associated with physical indicators of malnutrition but not food insecurity among rural school children in Honduras

Malnutrition affects approximately one third of children worldwide. Assessing children's growth is a meaningful way of studying a population's nutritional status. This study investigated (1) the association between stunting, chronic malnutrition, and food insecurity among school age children in rural Honduras and (2) the relationship between stunted growth and physical indicators of malnutrition. All school age children in 5 communities were assessed for physical indicators of malnutrition. Household interviews were performed with a subsample to collect information related to parental and household characteristics, food intake, and food insecurity. Means were compared for stunted versus nonstunted children, and bivariate correlation analyses were performed to investigate a relationship between food insecurity, stunting, and physical indicators of malnutrition. There was a correlation between stunting and one measure of food insecurity, and stunting and several physical indicators of malnutrition were related, including midarm circumference (P < .05), hair thickness (P < .05), hair color (P < .01), skin discoloration (P < .01), pot belly (P < .01), and thin limbs (P < .01). Because stunted growth was associated with physical indicators of malnutrition, measures to address stunting are warranted. Further research is needed to substantiate the importance of stunted growth as an indicator of long-term health, but our research clearly shows that stunted growth is related to physical indicators of malnutrition, which reveal poor short-term health.