Abstract
‘Growth-and-Obesity Profiles’ of a family gave percentiles of height, mass, optimal mass and status, indicating obesity or wasting as percentage, for all family members. Additionally, for children, target height, current-age-mid-parental height and status, indicating tallness or stunting as percentage, were calculated. To compute parents’ obesity profiles, gender-specific heights and masses were used to interpolate respective percentiles using age-20 values. Either parent was suggested to gain mass, if optimal mass exceeded actual mass. In case, value of optimal mass was lesser than actual mass, father was advised to reduce mass corresponding to that difference, provided the value was less than 10 kilograms, otherwise he should shed off 10 kilograms within the next 6 months. For mothers, currently married or recently divorced/widowed, the recommended suggestion to lose mass was computed by adding 5 kilograms to their mass, to account for possible pregnancy and the associated fetal mass. Up to the age of 30 years, optimal mass was taken as the mass corresponding to height percentile. For individuals older than 30 years, body-mass index (BMI) was considered to be the reference, computed by dividing mass in kilograms by square of height in meters. Optimal mass was determined by multiplying square of height with the ideal BMI value (24 kilogram/meter2 ). Linear interpolation was employed to compute target-height percentile. Box interpolation was used to determine child’s height/mass percentiles. A comparison of optimal mass with actual mass determined whether the child was wasted or obese. A similar procedure was adopted to compute current-age-mid-parental height. Comparison of child’s height with gender-specific-mid-parental height at current age, indicated whether the child was tall or stunted. When more than one profile (each profile representing a checkup) was available, ‘Growth-and-Obesity Roadmap’ was generated. This roadmap included month-wise recommendations to pick up height and put on or lose mass (weight). These recommendations were generated from the most-recent profile, in such a way that a child was not required to lose more than 10 kilograms within the next 6 months, in order to avoid any adverse health effects from a rapid loss of mass.