It’s Past Time to Change Mid-upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) Standards
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Abstract
Obesity has become the most common form of malnutrition in the first world, but under nutrition, particularly among children, continues to pose substantial threats to the developing world. The hope for these developing nations to be able to take their place in the worldwide community rests on the people benefitting from education and infrastructure can enable them to raise the standard of living, improve health, and receive adequate medical care. Current research has demonstrated the sensitivity of the brain and intellectual development to subtle alterations such as micronutrients; the effects of significant malnutrition during the critical years of development are far greater. As the first world considers extending help to third world countries, one of the most important interventions is nutritional support targeting vulnerable children as they prepare to take advantage of educational opportunities. A critical first step in that process is having cheap, easily taught screening methods to identify those vulnerable children. MUAC is such a tool, but the available data suggests that the currently utilized standards miss many of the most vulnerable children. That needs to change.
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