Mid-upper Arm Circumference Based Undernutrition among Bengalee Children of Chapra, West Bengal, India

Objective: to investigate age and sex variations in undernutrition using mid-upper arm circumference (muac) cut-off values among 2016 (930 boys and 1086 girls). 3-5 years old rural children of bengalee ethnicity at 66 integrated child development services (icds) centers of nadia district, west bengal, india.methods: in a cross sectional study in west bengal of india, muac was measured using standard technique. a total of 2028 children (935 boys and 1093 girls) from 66 icds centers were enrolled in this study. the response rate was approximately 95%. findings: mean muac among boys was higher than girls at all ages except 5 years. significant sex differences were not observed over ages. the age-combined rates of overall (moderate and severe) undernutrition among boys (38.49%) was higher than among girls (32.22%).the age-combined rates of moderate undernutrition were 36.34% and 31.03% among boys and girls, respectively. the rates of severe undernutrition were 2.15% and 1.20% among boys and girls, respectively. there were sex differences in both moderate and severe undernutrition. in general, there was an increasing trend in the rates of overall undernutrition from 3 to 5 years in both sexes. conclusion: these children were experiencing severe nutritional stress.