An Analysis on Nutritional Anthropometric Trends in Kenya

Abstract

This report provides an analysis of the existing data and information for the anthropometric indicators for children aged below five years for the period between 1993 and 2015. The published information on the anthropometric indicators for children under five years showed a downward trend in both the global and severe stunting; underweight and wasting during the period in focus. In order to compare the anthropometric indicators across surveys, a common survey methodology should be applied. This study did a comparison and noted the following differences; survey target populations and the duration of data collection. It was also observed that different growth reference standards for children were used in calculating the indices. This study applied recalculated anthropometric indicators using WHO 2006 growth reference standard which resulted in new prevalence rates that are different from the published rates. For instance, the published prevalence for 2005/06 KIHBS changed from 34.7 per cent to 36.8 per cent, while the 2008 KDHS rate changed from 35.3 per cent to 34.4 per cent.