Explain the Sub-clinical Protein Energy Malnutrition?
You have already learnt that clinical forms of PEM represent only a small proportion of the total cases of PEM in a community in rural India. Growth retardation is not only an important and objective manifestation of PEM, but is also the first response to rehabilitation in such cases. Anthropometry (body measurement) is extensively used to detect various degrees of sub-clinical forms of PEM. Body weight is, by far, the most sensitive and frequently used parameter of nutritional status particularly in preschool children (1-5 years). Several methods have been suggested for classification of PEM in children based either on body weight alone or in combination with standing height/ recumbent length.