Nutritional status of preschool children in Togo, 1976-77.

Survey teams visited 163 rural villages and 41 urban quarters in Togo and collected data on weight, height, arm circumference, age, and pedal oedema from 6120 children aged 6-72 months. Haemoglobin levels were determined for one-fifth of the survey children. When 80% of the reference median weight-for-height was used as the cut-off point, the prevalence of acute undernutrition was 2.0%. When 90% of the reference median height-for-age was used as the cut-off point, the prevalence of chronic undernutrition was 19.1%. The prevalence of both types of undernutrition was significantly higher in the northern rural regions, with the lowest prevalence in the urban areas. The prevalence of anaemia was 58.6%, with the highest prevalence in the northern regions. Anthropometric data on socioeconomically privileged preschool children were collected and compared with those for the survey children and the reference population. The socioeconomically privileged preschool group of Togolese children had a nutritional status substantially better than that of the survey children and nearly equivalent to that of the American reference population. The survey method was economical in terms of money, time, and personnel. The methodology employed rapidly provided objective data on the extent and distribution of protein-energy undernutrition and anaemia in the preschool children of Togo.