《Malnutrition Prevalence in Lasa Xizang Children and Adolescents》.pdfVIP

614 Biomed Environ Sci, 2014; 27(8): 614-626 Original Article Malnutrition Prevalence in Lasa Xizang Children and Adolescents* 1 2,# YIN Xiao Jian and JI Cheng Ye 1. Key Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention, Ministry of Education, College of Physical Education Health, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China; 2. Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China Abstract Objective To assess the prevalence of malnutrition among children and adolescents in Xizang (Tibet). Methods We analyzed data from the Chinese National Survey on Students’ Constitution and Health for the years 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010 pertaining to Tibetan children and adolescents in Lase (Lhasa), aged 7-18 years old. Numbers of survey subjects for these years were: 2 393, 2 754, 2 397, and 2 643, respectively. Results Our results indicated that the rate of occurrence of stunting in Tibet has evidenced a gradual decline: for boys, from 26.8% in 2000 to 9.3% in 2010; and for girls, from 25.8% in 2000 to 10.8% in 2010. In general, the wasting rate for both boys and girls in Tibet has gradually decreased over time: for boys, from 17.7% in 1995 to 4.6% in 2005; and for girls from 12.5% in 1995 to 2.3% in 2005. The stunting rates of boys aged 7-13 years old and of girls aged 7-11 years old were 67.5% and 53.1%, respectively, while these rates for boys aged 14-18 years old and girls aged 12-18 years old were 32.5% and 46.9%, respectively. Conclusion Stunting and wasting rates of Tibetan children and adolescents indicate a gradual declining trend over time