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Are stunted young Indonesian children more likely to be overweight, thin, or have high blood pressure in adolescence?

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Public Health

Abstract

Objectives

To determine whether stunted young children are at greater risk of (1) overweight/obesity or thinness, and (2) high blood pressure (HBP) in adolescence.

Methods

A secondary data analysis using the Indonesian Family Life Survey waves 1 (1993) to 4 (2007). We generated a 14-year follow-up cohort (1993–2007) and two 7-year cohorts (1993–2000 and 2000–2007) of children aged 2.0–4.9 years. Stunting (HAZ < −2), thinness (BMIZ < −2), and overweight/obesity (BMIZ > +1) were determined based upon the WHO Child Growth Standards. HBP (>90th percentile) was interpreted using the 4th Report on the Diagnosis of HBP in Children and Adolescents.

Results

765, 1083, and 1589 children were included in the 14-year cohort, and the two 7-year cohort analyses, respectively. In the 7-year cohorts, early life stunting was inversely associated with overweight/obesity (prevalence ratio 0.32 and 0.38, respectively; P < 0.05), but no significant association was found with the 14-year cohort. There was no significant association between childhood stunting and thinness at adolescence or in the odds/likelihood of having high systolic or diastolic blood pressure.

Conclusions

We found no association between early life stunting and overweight/obesity, thinness and HBP in adolescence.

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Acknowledgments

CNR would like to thank Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan (LPDP), the Republic of Indonesia for her Ph.D. scholarship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead (University of Sydney Clinical School), Sydney, Australia

    Cut Novianti Rachmi & Louise Alison Baur

  2. School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia

    Kingsley Emwinyore Agho

  3. Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Mu Li & Louise Alison Baur

Authors
  1. Cut Novianti Rachmi
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  2. Kingsley Emwinyore Agho
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  3. Mu Li
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  4. Louise Alison Baur
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cut Novianti Rachmi.

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Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Ethics approval for IFLS was provided in the United States of America (Institutional Review Board at Rand Corporation, Santa Monica, California) and Indonesia (Ethics Committees of the Universitas Indonesia and the Universitas Gadjah Mada).

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Rachmi, C.N., Agho, K.E., Li, M. et al. Are stunted young Indonesian children more likely to be overweight, thin, or have high blood pressure in adolescence?. Int J Public Health 62, 153–162 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-016-0905-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-016-0905-x

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