RESUMEN
The opinions on the performance characteristics of the mid arm circumference as anthropometric measurement for malnutrition screening are quite contradictory. In this paper we analyze the specificity and sensitivity of the arm tape under different conditions and conclude that the design of the tape characteristics should aim at an instrument which can satisfy specific needs instead of a general purpose one. We also give some measurements for the practical design of the instrument. 1. This investigation has been carried out under the Contract AID/ta-C-1121 and the Fundación para la Educación Superior. 2. Universidad del Valle. 3. Fundación para la Educación Superior. 4. Community Systems Foundation.
Asunto(s)
Antropometría/métodos , Brazo/anatomía & histología , Trastornos Nutricionales/diagnóstico , Encuestas Nutricionales , Estatura , Peso Corporal , Niño , Preescolar , Colombia , Femenino , Humanos , Lactante , Recién Nacido , MasculinoRESUMEN
The main objective of this work is to determine what anthropometric method to use under field conditions, given the kind of mainutrition to be detected. In the first part of the work some criteria and procedures are given by which to compare the field perfomance characteristics (i.e. transportability, facility of use, etc.), of the most commonly used instruments. Then we extrapolate these characteristics to the respective methods like weight for age, weight for height, height for age, etc. In the second part we present a correlation matrix among the various methods and analyze it in order to associate with each method a specific typology of malnutrition.