AN EVALUATION OF INFANT GROWTH - THE USE AND INTERPRETATION OF ANTHROPOMETRY IN INFANTS

In reviewing the growth of infants who live under favourable condition s and are fed according to WHO feeding recommendations, the Working Gr oup found significant differences between the growth patterns of these infants and the patterns reflected in the NCHS-WHO international refe rence. Given the short- and long-term consequences of growth failure, and the dangers of both the premature introduction of complementary fo ods and their undue delay - described as the ''weanling's dilemma'', t he Working Group concluded that use of the current NCHS-WHO reference appears to accentuate the difficulty of avoiding these extremes rather than to help ensure optimal infant nutritional management. The Workin g Group identified the following requirements: (a) a new reference whi ch will enhance the nutritional management of infants; (b) the referen ce population should reflect current health recommendations because of the frequent use of such reference data as standards; (c) evaluation, in a broad range of settings, of the practical utility of using refer ence data based on infants for whom the WHO feeding recommendations ar e being followed; (d) close investigation of the effects of different complementary foods on the growth of infants who are being fed accordi ng to the WHO recommendations; (e) criteria for evaluating abnormal gr owth patterns, (f) research for identifying proxy measures for length; and (g) evaluation of reference data based on other anthropometric me asurements, such as skinfold thickness and arm and head circumferences .