Assessments of the nutritional status of children on the Nembi plateau in 1978 and 1980

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Abstract
This study was carried out to assess the nutritional status of Nembi Children of Papua New Guinea in 1980 compared with that in 1978; to assess the pattern of child growth on the Nembi Plateau compared with that of a neighbouring highlands group, the Lagaip Enga; and to test the hypothesis that the rate of child malnutrition was not uniform throughout the altitudinal zones of the Nembi Plateau. The results show that Nembi children had a growth path, which although similar to other highland children, produced a lower weight‐for‐age and lower weight‐for‐height and consequently higher rates of malnutrition. The rate of malnutrition varied according to altitudinal zone on the plateau and, while rates of malnutrition improved between 1978 and 1980, the improvement was confined to the higher altitude zones. It is concluded that factors other than altitude, probably access to services, explain the variation in the rates of malnutrition between 1978 and 1980 in the three altitudinal zones of the plateau.

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