Lt. Hop et al., LONGITUDINAL OBSERVATION OF GROWTH OF VIETNAMESE CHILDREN IN HANOI, VIETNAM FROM BIRTH TO 10 YEARS OF AGE, European journal of clinical nutrition, 51(3), 1997, pp. 164-171
Objective: To investigate the physical growth of Vietnamese children o
n a longitudinal basis and with regard to any secular trend. Design: A
longitudinal study with four birth cohorts: 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984
followed up in their homes from birth to 10 y. Subjects: Two-hundred
twelve children (128 boys and 84 girls) from two (Hai Ba and Hoan Kiem
) out of the four districts in Hanoi. Monitoring of physical growth: W
eight, height, feeding practices and diseases were recorded monthly fr
om birth to 12 months, three monthly from 12-36 months, six monthly fr
om 36-72 months, and annually thereafter until 10 y of age. Results: M
ean body weight and height of the children at birth was reduced and af
ter the first 3-4 months were comparable to NCHS reference data. There
after weight and height fell progressively from the NCHS reference. Th
e most intense period of growth retardation was 15-36 months. The high
est proportion of stunting occurred at 21 months (59.4% of males and 5
8.3% of females). Anthropometric data of Vietnamese children living 19
81-1995 in Hanoi were lower than from those living at the same time in
Paris but higher than from those living in earlier decades in Vietnam
. Conclusions: The longitudinally-followed children showed growth reta
rdation at birth due to the poor nutritional and health status of thei
r mothers. Children grew well during the first 3-4 months of age, then
growth faltering was observed due to inadequate complementary feeding
practices. There was a positive secular trend among Vietnamese childr
en.