An anthropometric survey of the nutritional status of black preschool children in the Dias Divisional Council area, May 1981.

The nutritional status of 1468 Black preschool children in a rural Eastern Cape area was assessed anthropometrically in order to provide the Department of Health and Welfare with a critical evaluation of the effectiveness of its subsidized skimmed milk powder scheme for local authorities in combating kwashiorkor, to indicate factors which influence nutritional levels, and perhaps to provide a sound theoretical and empirical foundation for future health strategies. Weight and height for age (using the norms of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS], weight for height, and triceps and subscapular skinfold thickness were used as criteria for assessing nutritional status. Stated age and certified age groups were assessed separately. Depending upon the sex and stated/certified age, the percentages of children falling under the third percentile ranged from 11,1% to 37,0% for NCHS norms and from 10,9% to 15,7% for skinfold thicknesses. Together with an urban assessment undertaken in December 1982 the survey may indicate where local problems will occur.