Under fives nutritional status in rural communities in western Nigeria. Use of age-standardised weight and mid upper arm circumference.

The nutritional status of all children under five years in each of two rural areas in the forest belt of western Nigeria was assessed by visiting overseas medical students. Each child under five was weighed and their mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) measured. One quarter of the children had weights below the third percentile for age (WHO standards). In one village nearly half of 45 children had weights below the third percentile and one sixth had weights further below the median than three standard deviations. Standardised weight scores (against reference standards) tended to be a little higher than, but correlated fairly well (r = 0.67) with standardised MUAC. New amalgamated standards for MUAC from 0 to 60 months are presented.