The Weights of Young African Children in a Township in Rhodesia

Abstract

No standards of normal weight for young children exist for the African population in Rhodesia. Ford (1964) suggested that the Havard Standards (Stuart and Stevenson, 1959) could be used as a guide in assessing malnutrition in different ethnic groups when no local standards of reference are available. This idea has been further elaborated by Jelliffe (1966), who suggested a General Standard of Reference, which was derived from the Havard data. This study establishes a standard for African children in Rhodesia and also compares the weight-for-age curve of these young children of mixed genetic background with that derived from the Havard data.