Protein energy malnutrition in Coloured children in Western Township, Johannesburg. II. Prevalence and severity.

: Anthropometric measures of growth and serum albumin and transferrin concentrations were assessed in 344 Coloured children aged from 1 to 16 years living in Western Township, Johannesburg. About one third of children were diagnosed as suffering from protein energy malnutrition (PEM) on the basis of weight-for-age below the 3rd percentile. The prevalence varied in different age groups, and was highest in the group aged from 5 to 8 years. A high prevalence of abnormally low head circumference measurements was found in the 1-year-old children (41, 2%). The severity of PEM was relatively mild, as reflected by the serum albumin and transferrin concentrations, and the almost total absence of oedema among the children. A positive association of breast feeding and income with growth was noted.