Abstract
A total of 5,995 children (7.8% of all 7- to 10-year-old primary schoolchildren in Kuala Lumpur), randomly selected from 166 schools (97.6% of all schools), were measured for their weight and height. the analyses of all weight and height data, including the cutoffs used for defining stunting, underweight, and wasting and for thinness and overweight, were carried out as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). the prevalences of stunting (height-for-age Z score < −2 SD), underweight (weight-for-age Z score < −2 SD) and wasting (weight-for-height Z score < −2 SD) among all the children studied were 6.7%, 7.1%, and 4.5%, respectively. Undernutrition among boys was more serious than among girls according to all three indicators. Because it was not possible to analyze the weight-for-height data for most of the children above 8.5 years of age, body mass index (BMI)-for-age was used to determine the prevalences of thinness and overweight for all the children. Based on the reference data, the prevalence of overweight (at or above the 95th percentile) was 9.7% and 7.1% for boys and girls, respectively, and 8.4% overall.