According to World health organization, severe stunning for low height for age is best described in standard deviation is?

Appeared in: NORCET -4 , 2023

Explanation

The World Health Organization (WHO) uses Z-scores, or standard deviations (SD), to classify childhood malnutrition.
Stunting refers to impaired growth and development, indicated by a low height-for-age.
According to WHO standards, 'severe stunting' is specifically defined as a height-for-age Z-score that is below -3 standard deviations from the median of the reference population.
This threshold signifies a serious level of chronic malnutrition requiring priority intervention.

Option A: A height-for-age Z-score below two standard deviations (-2 SD) is the cutoff for 'moderate stunting', not severe stunting.
Option C: While a child with a Z-score below four standard deviations is indeed severely stunted, the official WHO classification for 'severe' begins at the threshold of -3 SD.
Option D: A Z-score of -1 standard deviation falls within the normal range of growth for a healthy child population (which is between -2 SD and +2 SD).

Visual 1: Chart - A WHO growth chart for height-for-age, clearly showing the curved lines for the median, -2 SD, and -3 SD. This helps visualize how a child's growth is plotted and classified as normal, moderately stunted, or severely stunted.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain WHO classification of severe stunting based on standard deviation as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Accurate classification of stunting is critical for nurses and community health workers to identify children at high risk and prioritize nutritional interventions.
Severe stunting is linked to impaired cognitive development, poor school performance, and increased risk of chronic diseases in adulthood. Early identification is key to mitigating these long-term effects.
What if? If a child's Z-score was -2.5 SD, the nurse would classify this as moderate stunting. The intervention would still be crucial but might differ in urgency and intensity compared to a child with severe stunting (below -3 SD), who would need immediate and intensive therapeutic feeding and medical assessment.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the key terms in the question: 'World Health Organization (WHO)', 'severe stunting', and 'standard deviation'.
This is a factual recall question that requires knowledge of specific public health definitions.
Recall the WHO's classification system for malnutrition, which uses Z-scores (standard deviations).
Remember the specific thresholds: below -2 SD for moderate and below -3 SD for severe forms of malnutrition.
Match the term 'severe stunting' with its corresponding threshold, which is -3 SD.
Select the option that states 'Three standard deviation' as it aligns with the WHO definition for 'severe'.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: WHO classification of severe stunting based on standard deviation.
Stem keywords: World Health Organization, severe stunting, low height for age, standard deviation
Lead-in keywords: best described
Negative lead-in flag: false

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