Anthropometric Assessment of Nepali Children

Primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire and anthropometric measurements of children aged 5 to 17 years. For anthropometric measurements, the children’s height and weight were measured. Weight was measured using a standard digital weight scale, Seca (Model no. 874, Germany), and height was measured using a wall-mountable Bioplus Stature Meter (Model no. 26 M/1,013,522, India). The measurement of weight was recorded to the nearest 0.1 kg and height to the nearest 0.1 cm. Other information was collected by administering a questionnaire to the parents or caretakers of the children or staff at that institution.
Face-to-face or telephone interviews were conducted in the Nepali language to collect the data from parents/caretakers. The questionnaire to the institutional staff included information about the types of disability, overnight stay of CWDs, and socio-demographic information. The parents/caretakers’ included feeding practices, dietary patterns, and maternal and child health-related information. The questionnaire was drafted in this study based on Nepali translation from the existing English questionnaire used to assess malnutrition among children with disabilities in Kenya [8 (link)]. To ensure its validity, the questionnaire was modified to fit the local context. For example, the food names in the 24-hour recall questions were reviewed so that parents/caretakers could understand them. The first author did all interviews and anthropometric measurements.