BackgroundExcess male morbidity and mortality is well recognised in neonatal medicine and infant health. In contrast, within global nutrition, it is commonly assumed that girls are more at risk of experiencing undernutrition. We aimed to explore evidence for any male/female differences in child undernutrition using anthropometric case definitions and the reasons for differences observed.MethodsWe searched: Medline, Embase, Global health, Popline and Cochrane databases with no time limits applied. Eligible studies focused on children aged 0–59 months affected by undernutrition where sex was reported. In the meta-analysis, undernutrition-specific estimates were examined separately for wasting, stunting and underweight using a random-effects model.Results74 studies were identified: 44/74 studies were included in the meta-analysis. In 20 which examined wasting, boys had higher odds of being wasted than girls (pooled OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.40). 38 examined stunting: boys had higher odds of stunting than girls (pooled OR 1.29 95% CI 1.22 to 1.37). 23 explored underweight: boys had higher odds of being underweight than girls (pooled OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.26). There was some limited evidence that the female advantage, indicated by a lower risk of stunting and underweight, was weaker in South Asia than other parts of the world. 43/74 (58%) studies discussed possible reasons for boy/girl differences; 10/74 (14%) cited studies with similar findings with no further discussion; 21/74 (28%) had no sex difference discussion. 6/43 studies (14%) postulated biological causes, 21/43 (49%) social causes and 16/43 (37%) to a combination.ConclusionOur review indicates that undernutrition in children under 5 is more likely to affect boys than girls, though the magnitude of these differences varies and is more pronounced in some contexts than others. Future research should further explore reasons for these differences and implications for nutrition policy and practice.

In 2014, the Emergency Nutrition Network published a report on the relationship between wasting and stunting. We aim to review evidence generated since that review to better understand the implications for improving child nutrition, health and survival. We conducted a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines, registered with PROSPERO. We identified search terms that describe wasting and stunting and the relationship between the two. We included studies related to children under five from low‐ and middle‐income countries that assessed both ponderal growth/wasting and linear growth/stunting and the association between the two. We included 45 studies. The review found the peak incidence of both wasting and stunting is between birth and 3 months. There is a strong association between the two conditions whereby episodes of wasting contribute to stunting and, to a lesser extent, stunting leads to wasting. Children with multiple anthropometric deficits, including concurrent stunting and wasting, have the highest risk of near‐term mortality when compared with children with any one deficit alone. Furthermore, evidence suggests that the use of mid‐upper‐arm circumference combined with weight‐for‐age Z score might effectively identify children at most risk of near‐term mortality. Wasting and stunting, driven by common factors, frequently occur in the same child, either simultaneously or at different moments through their life course. Evidence of a process of accumulation of nutritional deficits and increased risk of mortality over a child's life demonstrates the pressing need for integrated policy, financing and programmatic approaches to the prevention and treatment of child malnutrition.

BackgroundSevere malnutrition in childhood associated with HIV infection presents a serious humanitarian and public health challenge in Southern Africa. The aim of this study was to collect country wide data on HIV infection patterns in severely malnourished children to guide the development of integrated care in a resource limited setting.MethodsA cross sectional survey was conducted in 12 representative rural and urban Nutrition Rehabilitation Units (NRUs), from each of Malawi's 3 regions.All children and their caretakers admitted to each NRU over a two week period were offered HIV counselling and testing. Testing was carried out using two different rapid antibody tests, with PCR testing for discordant results. Children under 15 months were excluded, to avoid difficulties with interpretation of false positive rapid test results.The survey was conducted once in the dry/post-harvest season, and repeated in the rainy/hungry season.Results570 children were eligible for study inclusion. Acceptability and uptake of HIV testing was high: 523(91.7%) of carers consented for their children to take part; 368(70.6%) themselves accepted testing.Overall HIV prevalence amongst children tested was 21.6%(95% confidence intervals, 18.2–25.5%). There was wide variation between individual NRUs: 2.0–50.0%.Geographical prevalence variations were significant between the three regions (p < 0.01) with the highest prevalence being in the south: Northern Region 23.1%(95%CI 14.3–34.0%), Central Region 10.9%(95%CI 7.5–15.3%), and Southern Region 36.9%(95%CI 14.3–34.0%).HIV prevalence was significantly higher in urban areas, 32.9%(95%CI 26.8–39.4%) than in rural 13.2%(95%CI 9.5–17.6%)(p < 0.01).NRU HIV prevalence rates were lower in the rainy/hungry season 18.4%(95%CI 14.7–22.7%) than in the dry/post-harvest season 30.9%(95%CI 23.2–39.4%) (p < 0.001%).ConclusionThere is a high prevalence of HIV infection in severely malnourished Malawian children attending NRUs with children in urban areas most likely to be infected. Testing for HIV is accepted by their carers in both urban and rural areas. NRUs could act as entry points to HIV treatment and support programmes for affected children and families. Recognition of wide geographical variations in childhood HIV prevalence will ensure that limited resources are initially targeted to areas of highest need.These findings may have implications for the other countries with similar patterns of childhood illness and food insecurity.

Complementing a recent systematic review and meta-analysis which showed that boys are more likely to be wasted, stunted, and underweight than girls, we conducted a narrative review to explore which early life mechanisms might underlie these sex differences. We addressed different themes, including maternal and newborn characteristics, immunology and endocrinology, evolutionary biology, care practices, and anthropometric indices to explore potential sources of sex differences in child undernutrition. Our review found that the evidence on why sex differences occur is limited but that a complex interaction of social, environmental, and genetic factors likely underlies these differences throughout the life cycle. Despite their bigger size at birth and during infancy, in conditions of food deprivation, boys experience more undernutrition from as early as the foetal period. Differences appear to be more pronounced in more severe presentations of undernutrition and in more socioeconomically deprived contexts. Boys are more vulnerable to infectious disease, and differing immune and endocrine systems appear to explain some of this disadvantage. Limited evidence also suggests that different sociological factors and care practices might exert influence and have the potential to exacerbate or reverse observed differences. Further research is needed to better understand sex differences in undernutrition and the implications of these for child outcomes and prevention and treatment programming.

Background Excess male morbidity and mortality is well recognised in neonatal medicine and infant health. In contrast, within global nutrition, it is commonly assumed that girls are more at-risk of experiencing undernutrition. We aimed to explore evidence for any male/female differences in child undernutrition using anthropometric case definitions and the reasons for differences observed. Methods We searched: Medline, Embase, Global health, Popline and Cochrane databases with no time limits applied. Eligible studies focused on children aged 0-59 months affected by undernutrition where sex was reported. In the meta-analysis, undernutrition-specific estimates were examined separately for wasting, stunting and underweight using a random effects model. Results 76 studies were identified: 46/76 studies were included in the meta-analysis. In 20 which examined wasting, boys had higher odds of being wasted than girls (pooled OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.13-1.40). 39 examined stunting: boys had higher odds of stunting than girls (pooled OR 1.31 95% CI 1.24-1.39). 25 explored underweight: boys had higher odds of being underweight than girls (pooled OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.07-1.32). There was some limited evidence that the female advantage indicating lower risk of stunting and underweight was weaker in South Asia than other parts of the world. 44/76 (58%) of studies discussed possible reasons for boy/girl differences; 11/76 (14%) cited studies with similar findings with no further discussion; 21/76 (28%) had no sex difference discussion. 6/44 studies (14%) postulated biological causes, 21/44 (48%) social causes and 17/44 (38%) to a combination. Conclusion Our review indicates that undernutrition in children under 5 is more likely to affect boys than girls, though the magnitude of these differences varies and is more pronounced in some contexts than others.

A blanket supplementary feeding programme for young children was implemented for four months in five northern districts of Kenya from January 2010 because of fears of food insecurity exacerbated by drought. An attempt to evaluate the impact of the food on children's anthropometric status was put in place in three districts. The main aim of the analysis was to assess the quality of the data on the cohort of children studied in the evaluation and to propose methods by which it could be improved to evaluate future blanket feeding programmes. Data on the name, age, sex, weight and height of a systematic sample of children recruited at 61 food distribution sites were collected at the first, second and third rounds and again at an extra, fifth food distribution, offered only to the evaluation subjects. Of the 3,544 children enrolled, 483 (13.63%) did not collect a fifth ration. Of the 2,640 children who were considered by their name to be the same at the first and fifth food distribution (13% were different), data on only 902 children (34.17%) were considered acceptable based on their age (an arbitrary ±3 months different) and their length or height (between >−1 or ≤4 cm different) at the two instances they were seen. Data on nearly two thirds of children were of questionable quality. The main reasons for the poor quality data were inconsistencies in estimating age or because caretakers may have brought different children. Recommendations are made about how to improve data quality including ensuring that entry to a blanket feeding programme is clearly based on height, not age, to avoid misreporting age; careful identification of subjects at all contacts; and using well-trained, specialist evaluation staff.

The study investigates sex differences in the prevalence of undernutrition in sub-Saharan Africa. Undernutrition was defined by Z-scores using the CDC-2000 growth charts. Some 128 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) were analysed, totalling 700,114 children under-five. The results revealed a higher susceptibility of boys to undernutrition. Male-to-female ratios of prevalence averaged 1.18 for stunting (height-for-age Z-score <−2.0); 1.01 for wasting (weight-for-height Z-score <−2.0); 1.05 for underweight (weight-for-age Z-score <−2.0); and 1.29 for concurrent wasting and stunting (weight-for-height and height-for-age Z-scores <−2.0). Sex ratios of prevalence varied with age for stunting and concurrent wasting and stunting, with higher values for children age 0–23 months and lower values for children age 24–59 months. Sex ratios of prevalence tended to increase with declining level of mortality for stunting, underweight and concurrent wasting and stunting, but remained stable for wasting. Comparisons were made with other anthropometric reference sets (NCHS-1977 and WHO-2006), and the results were found to differ somewhat from those obtained with CDC-2000. Possible rationales for these patterns are discussed.

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