Objective: To assess the impact of a 130 kcal supplemental snack on growth in primary school children ages 4 ½ to 11 years old.
Design: Non-randomized, experimental design.
Setting: Roche Village, Rorya District, Tanzania, East Africa.
Participants: A cohort (N=321) and subset (n=42) of pupils age 4 ½ -11 years that attend primary school in Roche Village where a supplemental snack feeding program was implemented.
Main outcome measures: Calculation of Z-scores for underweight (weight-for-height Z-score), stunting (height-for-age Z-score), and wasting (weight-for-age Z-score).
Analysis: Children were identified as underweight, stunted and wasted if their weight-for-age, height-for-age, and weight-for-height Z-scores were <-2 SD of the National Center for Health Statistics reference standards.
Results: At baseline, the prevalence of underweight, stunting, and wasting was 2.2%, 5.3%, and 0.9%, respectively. At follow-up, no student had a Z-score of <-2 SD for underweight, stunting, or wasting. There was a significant decline in the mean height-for-age Z-scores (-.37952) and mean weight-for-age Z-scores (-.19452) from baseline to follow-up among the subset.
Conclusion: At the beginning of the study, the prevalence of underweight, stunting, and wasting was low in Roche village. In a subset of the sample, height and weight significantly declined from baseline to follow up. Continued anthropometric measurements on pupils who participate in the supplemental snack feeding program will help to track its effect on their growth.