Trends in anthropometric measurements among Mescalero Apache Indian school children - 1968 through 1988.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there were trends in underweight, short stature, and obesity among 1- through 5-year old Mescalero Apache Indian children from 1968 through 1988. The authors conducted a cross-sectional review of hospital clinic charts for five cohorts. The study setting was the general pediatric outpatient clinic at the Mescalero Indian Health Service Hospital. Participants included 69 patients aged 1 through 5 years in 1968, 1978, 1983, and 1988 for whom weight and height were recorded during a well-child visit that occurred in the respective year. Approximately half the charts were screened for eligibility through systematic sampling for all years except 1988; for 1988 all available charts were screened for eligibility for the study. The authors found trends of decreasing prevalence of both underweight (defined as weight-for-height below the fifth percentile) and short stature (defined as height-for-age below the fifth percentile) based on the Centers for Disease Control/World Health Organization growth reference. They found no secular trends in obesity (weight-for-height above the 95th percentile), although the prevalences throughout the 21-year period were as much as two to four times higher than expected when compared with the Centers for Disease Control/World Health Organization reference. There has been an upward shift in both weight-for-height and height-for-age distributions since 1968, indicating that Mescalero children today are, on average, heavier and taller. Underweight and short stature decreased among the Mescalero preschool children from 1968 through 1988, suggesting nutritional improvements. However, given the current prevalence of obesity, it is recommended that surveillance of nutritional status be continued and appropriate interventions be developed to treat and prevent obesity in this population.