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"Over 40 percent of those 5 and under are stunted — meaning they are in the bottom 2 to 3 percent of the worldwide height distribution for their age and sex" A

"Over 40 percent of those 5 and under are stunted — meaning they are in the bottom 2 to 3 percent of the worldwide height distribution for their age and sex" Argh. It really bugs me when newspapers can't do simple arithmetic. Especially in the lead paragraph. India is about 17-18% of the world's population. It has a slightly above average fertility rate, so it will have disproportionately more children. So about 20% of the world's children are Indian. If 40% of Indian children are stunted, therefore, at least 8% of children worldwide must be stunted (not including Africa, China, etc.). 8% of children cannot be in the bottom 2-3% of the world's height distribution. That is not how statistics works. If this obvious an error was put in the lead paragraph, how can we trust that the other facts are accurate?

mikeyouse 12y ago
Doesn't your question presuppose that the height distribution tables reset every year? If the height distribution is a fixed scale over time, then the bottom 3% of that distribution could easily account for far more than 3% of the children that are currently in that age range. Late-ish Edit for Clarity: We don't weigh all the children every year to calculate new tables, we have enough data to figure out how much a 'normal' child should weigh. The percentiles are based on normal age / weight / height correlations and not their relative weight in the world's current sample of children.
aamar 12y ago
UNICEF statistics classify 25% of children as stunted. http://data.unicef.org/resources/2013/webapps/nutrition# http://data.unicef.org/resources/2013/webapps/nutrition# Not sure where that 2 to 3 percent is coming from.
- judk 12y ago
  I would guess it probably means 2-3%ile of a "healthy" "middle class" population like Finland, or a theoretical model of one.
DanBC 12y ago
The world food programme list their methods here. http://www.micronutrient.org/nutritiontoolkit/ModuleFolders/13.Manuals_and_resources/WFP_Measuring_and_Interpreting_Malnutrition_and_Mortality/3)_Chapter_1_-_Defining_&_measuring_malnutr_(pgs_15-32).pdf http://www.micronutrient.org/nutritiontoolkit/ModuleFolders/... The CDC and NCHS developed data that was adopted by WHO and then WFP. > To determine a child's nutritional status, you need to compare that child's status with a reference for healthy children. References are used to compare a child's measurement(s) with the median for chil- dren of the same sex and age for height- for-age and weight-for-age, or to children of the same sex and height for weight-for- height. The internationally accepted reference was developed by the CDC and its National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) using data collected from a popu- lation of healthy children2. > The World Health Organization (WHO) adopted the NCHS reference curves for international use. Evidence has shown that the growth patterns of well-fed, healthy preschool children from diverse ethnic backgrounds are similar and consequently are applicable for children from all races and ethnicities. These references are used by agencies involved with nutritional assessments and analysis, including WFP.
- JumpCrisscross 12y ago
  It seems like "worldwide height distribution for [healthy children of] their age and sex" would have been clearer phrasing. Either way, the ambiguity does not discredit the article's findings.

mikeyouse 12y ago

Doesn't your question presuppose that the height distribution tables reset every year? If the height distribution is a fixed scale over time, then the bottom 3% of that distribution could easily account for far more than 3% of the children that are currently in that age range. Late-ish Edit for Clarity: We don't weigh all the children every year to calculate new tables, we have enough data to figure out how much a 'normal' child should weigh. The percentiles are based on normal age / weight / height correlations and not their relative weight in the world's current sample of children.

aamar 12y ago

UNICEF statistics classify 25% of children as stunted. http://data.unicef.org/resources/2013/webapps/nutrition# http://data.unicef.org/resources/2013/webapps/nutrition# Not sure where that 2 to 3 percent is coming from.

judk 12y ago
I would guess it probably means 2-3%ile of a "healthy" "middle class" population like Finland, or a theoretical model of one.

DanBC 12y ago

The world food programme list their methods here. http://www.micronutrient.org/nutritiontoolkit/ModuleFolders/13.Manuals_and_resources/WFP_Measuring_and_Interpreting_Malnutrition_and_Mortality/3)_Chapter_1_-_Defining_&_measuring_malnutr_(pgs_15-32).pdf http://www.micronutrient.org/nutritiontoolkit/ModuleFolders/... The CDC and NCHS developed data that was adopted by WHO and then WFP. > To determine a child's nutritional status, you need to compare that child's status with a reference for healthy children. References are used to compare a child's measurement(s) with the median for chil- dren of the same sex and age for height- for-age and weight-for-age, or to children of the same sex and height for weight-for- height. The internationally accepted reference was developed by the CDC and its National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) using data collected from a popu- lation of healthy children2. > The World Health Organization (WHO) adopted the NCHS reference curves for international use. Evidence has shown that the growth patterns of well-fed, healthy preschool children from diverse ethnic backgrounds are similar and consequently are applicable for children from all races and ethnicities. These references are used by agencies involved with nutritional assessments and analysis, including WFP.

JumpCrisscross 12y ago
It seems like "worldwide height distribution for [healthy children of] their age and sex" would have been clearer phrasing. Either way, the ambiguity does not discredit the article's findings.