Undernutrition among Bedouin Arab children: a follow-up of the Bedouin Infant Feeding Study

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Abstract
After 10 y of urban settlement, 680 Bedouin Arab children, who had had anthropometric assessment from birth (1981–1982) through early childhood, were reassessed in 1991–1992 to compare the rates of stunting in early and later childhood as well as to describe the factors influencing current height-for-age. Stunting had dropped from 32.7% at 18 mo to 7.2% at 10 y in the 1981 birth cohort and dropped from 17.5% at 9 mo to 8.2% at 9 y in the 1982 birth cohort. Based on a multiple-linear-regression analysis, height in early childhood and maternal height were statistically significantly and positively associated with current mean height-for-age in both cohorts. In the 1982 cohort socioeconomic status in early childhood was positively and current family size was negatively and significantly associated with current mean height-for-age. Thus, conditions that were present in early childhood had the largest influence on current height. In 1992, 10% and 6% of the infant siblings of the 1981 and 1982 cohorts, respectively, were stunted compared with 17% and 1% of the siblings aged 1–2 y of the respective cohorts. Therefore, the high rates of early childhood stunting in 1981–1982 appeared to be a birth cohort-specific phenomenon.