Objective: To determine how much of the variation in nutritional status of Bangladeshi children under 5 years old can be attributed to the socio-economic status of the family. Design: Nutritional status used reference Z-scores of weight-for-age (WAZ), height-for-age (HAZ) and weight-for-height (WHZ). A 'possession score' was generated based on ownership of a radio, television, bicycle, motorcycle and telephone, and the availability of electricity, with categories of 0 to 41 possessions. A five-point (quintile) 'poverty index' was created using principal component analysis. Setting: The Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2004 was the source of data. Subjects: A sample of 4891 children aged ,5 years was obtained. Results: Some 57?8 % of the sample was either stunted, wasted or underweight (7?7 % were stunted, wasted and underweight). Of those stunted (48?4 %), 25?7 % were also underweight. Underweight and wasting prevalences were 40?7 % and 14?3 %, respectively. Mean WAZ, HAZ and WHZ did not differ by sex. Children of mothers with no education or no possessions were, on average, about 1 SD more underweight and stunted than those with higher educated mothers or with 41 possessions. The possession score provided much greater discrimination of undernutrition than the poverty index. Nearly 50 % of children from households with no possessions were stunted, wasted or underweight (only 27 % in the poorest quintile), compared with only 3-6 % of children from households with 41 possessions (over 13 % in the richest quintile). Conclusions: Maternal education and possession score were the main predictors of a child's nutritional status. Possession score was a much better indicator of undernutrition than the poverty index.

Objective: To provide nationally representative data on the prevalence of anaemia, vitamin A and Fe deficiencies among pre-school age children (pre-SAC) and nonpregnant women of reproductive age (WRA), and on vitamin B 12 and folate deficiencies in WRA, and the influence of inflammation on their interpretation. Design: A cross-sectional survey to measure anthropometry, malaria parasitaemia and micronutrient status. Specifically, blood samples were analysed for Hb, plasma ferritin, soluble transferrin receptors, C-reactive protein, a 1 -acid glycoprotein, retinol-binding protein, vitamin B 12 and folate. Setting: Côte d'Ivoire in 2007. Subjects: Nine hundred and twenty-eight WRA and 879 pre-SAC. Results: In WRA, prevalence of Plasmodium parasitaemia (5 %) was low, but inflammation (34 %) was higher. Anaemia was a severe public health problem and prevalence differed by residency and eco-region. Inflammation-adjusted Fe deficiency was highest in urban areas (20 %). Nationally, folate deficiency was 86 %, higher in urban areas and varied by eco-region. Prevalence of vitamin B 12 deficiency was low but higher in the rural areas and the north. Inflammationadjusted vitamin A deficiency was very low (1 %). In pre-SAC, prevalence of inflammation (67 %) and Plasmodium parasites (25 %) was high; the latter was associated with poverty, rural residency and higher ferritin concentrations. Anaemia was classified as a severe public health problem (72 %), and was higher in rural areas (76 %) and the north (87 %). A quarter of pre-SAC suffered from vitamin A deficiency (inflammation-adjusted) and prevalence of undernutrition was high. Conclusions: Prevalence of inflammation, Plasmodium parasitaemia and micronutrient deficiencies were high in Côte d'Ivoire, particularly in pre-SAC. Nutritional interventions should be accompanied by strategies to reduce exposure to infections.

Objectives: To assess whether the Bangladesh Integrated Nutrition Programme (BINP) correctly identified which pregnant women should be enrolled in the food supplementation programme, whether supplementation commenced on time and was taken on a regular basis. A second objective was to determine whether food supplementation led to enhanced pregnancy weight gain and reduction in the prevalence of low birth weight. Design: A one-year community-based longitudinal study. Setting: A rural union of Bhaluka Upazila, Mymensingh, located 110 km northwest of Dhaka City, the capital of Bangladesh. Participants: A total of 1104 normotensive, non-smoking pregnant women who attended Community Nutrition Centres were studied from first presentation at the centre until child delivery. Results: Pregnant women who had a BMI of ,18?5 kg/m 2 on first presentation should have been selected for supplementary feeding (2512 kJ (600 kcal)/d for six days per week) starting at month 4 (16 weeks) of pregnancy. However, of the 526 women who had BMI , 18?5 kg/m 2 , only 335 received supplementation; so the failure rate was 36?3 %. In addition, of those receiving supplementation, only 193 women (36?7 % of 526 women) commenced supplementation at the correct time, of whom thirty-two (9?6 % of 335 women) received supplementation for the correct number of days (100 % days). There were no significant differences in mean weight gain between BMI , 18?5 kg/m 2 supplemented or non-supplemented groups or between the equivalent groups with BMI $ 18?5 kg/m 2 . Weight gain was inversely related to initial weight, so lighter women gained relatively more weight during their pregnancy than heavier women. The mean birth weight in the supplemented and non-supplemented groups was 2?63 kg and 2?72 kg, respectively. Mothers with BMI , 18?5 kg/m 2 who were or were not supplemented had almost equal percentages of low-birth-weight babies (21 % and 22 %, respectively). Conclusion: The study raises doubt about the efficiency of the BINP to correctly target food supplementation to pregnant women. It also shows that food supplementation does not lead to enhanced pregnancy weight gain nor does it provide any evidence of a reduction in prevalence of low birth weight. Keywords Pregnancy weight gainFood supplementation Low birth weight Intra-uterine growth and development is one of the most vulnerable periods in the human life cycle. The weight of an infant at birth is an important indicator of maternal health and nutrition prior to, and during, pregnancy, and a powerful predictor of infant growth and survival (1) . Approximately 25 million babies are born each year weighing less than 2500 g, the WHO cut-off for low birth weight (LBW), of which 90 % are born in developing countries (2) . Bangladesh is one such country, where 50 % of childbearing women are suffering from malnutrition defined by BMI , 18?5 kg/m 2 and more than 20 % are severely stunted (3) . Bangladesh has the highest worldwide prevalence of LBW with rates estimated at between 20 % and 60 % (4,5) . The h...

The Sylhet administrative division needs specially focused attention from policy-makers if the overall performance of the health, nutrition and population sector is to reach the targets set by the country.

Using a sample of 2090 father and son pairs, the extent of intra- and inter-generational social mobility (migration between social classes) was examined over a 42-year period in a British cohort in relation to height, weight and body mass index (BMI). The mean height difference between the highest and lowest social class decreased from about 4 cm in the fathers' generation to about 3 cm in the sons' generation, indicating a decline in heterogeneity in height between classes. For fathers downward intra-generational social mobility ranged between 11% and 18% while between 16% and 26% were upwardly mobile; for sons 15% were downwardly mobile and 21% upwardly mobile. On average downwardly mobile fathers were shorter by between 0.1 cm and 0.7 cm while upwardly mobile fathers were taller by, on average, 0.6 cm to 1.7 cm. For sons, the downwardly mobile were on average 0.7 cm shorter and the upwardly mobile 0.8 cm taller. For weight and BMI there were no consistent relationships with intra-generational mobility in either the fathers' or sons' generations. Inter-generationally, between 18% and 19% of sons were downwardly mobile and between 39% and 40% were upwardly mobile; the downwardly mobile were shorter by about 0.9 cm and the upwardly taller by between 0.6 cm and 1.2 cm. Sons with higher BMI were more likely to be inter-generationally downwardly mobile.