Child malnutrition is a major public health issue worldwide. An estimated 144 million children under age 5 are stunted, 47 million are wasted and 38.3 million are overweight or obese. Around 45% of deaths among children under 5 years of age are linked to undernutrition.
Measuring the growth of infants and children is an important part of child health surveillance. Inadequate infant growth due to poor nutrition leads to under-nutrition in children in many developing countries, which, if followed later in life by an increased intake of calories, can result in overweight or obesity.
The WHO Child Growth Standards are a diagnostic tool used to monitor and assess the nutritional status of infants and young children worldwide. By tracking children’s height and body weight, the standards detect children or populations not growing properly or under- or overweight, and who may require specific medical or public health responses.
The WHO standards have charts for boys and girls separated, covering age birth to 5 years. They are used in doctors’ offices, clinics and other health facilities, and by research institutions, child health advocacy organizations and ministries of health
WHO works with partners and Member States to improve the lives of all children and meet the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 3, which aims to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 by 2030. If all countries reach this goal, 11 million lives will be saved, more than half of them in sub-Saharan Africa.
Vast disparities exist around the world in a child’s chances of survival, with low- and middle-income countries disproportionately affected. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest child mortality rate in the world, in some places 15 times higher than in high-income countries. The leading causes of death among children include respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases, measles, malaria, malnutrition and newborn conditions. Many child deaths are preventable through vaccination, adequate home care, access to health care services, improved rates of breastfeeding and better nutrition.
from diarrhoea, 270 000 deaths from neonatal conditions, 200 000 deaths from malaria and 200 000 deaths from unintentional injuries.
Environmental risks have an impact on the health and development of children, from conception through childhood and adolescence and also into adulthood. The environment determines a child’s future: early life exposures impact on adult health as fetal programming and early growth may be altered by environmental risk factors.
Reducing environmental risks could prevent 1 in 4 child deaths. In 2012, 1.7 million deaths in children under five were attributable to the environment. These included 570 000 deaths from respiratory infections, 361 000 deaths from diarrhoea, 270 000 deaths from neonatal conditions, 200 000 deaths from malaria and 200 000 deaths from unintentional injuries.
