Impact of Daily versus Weekly Supply of Locally Produced Ready-to-Use Food on Growth of Moderately Wasted Children on Nias Island, Indonesia

Table 4

Anthropometric indices and other program outcomes (during admission and before discharge/program closure) of moderately wasted children, by daily and weekly programs^†.

Indicators	Daily programs	Weekly programs	𝑃 value^††
𝑁	34	20
Weight
Admission, kg	9.3±1.7	9.1±2.1	0.761
Discharge, kg	10.2±1.9	9.9±2.2	0.572
Difference, kg	+0.9±0.8	+0.8±0.6	0.778
Weight gain, kg/day	+0.04±0.04	+0.03±0.06	0.600
Weight gain, g/kg/day	+3.9±3.8	+2.0±2.0	0.117
Height
Admission, cm	83.3±8.5	83.1±10.6	0.962
Discharge, cm	84.5±8.7	85.0±10.7	0.857
Difference, cm	+1.2±1.9	+1.8±1.9	0.945
WHZ
Admission	−2.35±0.27	−2.48±0.25	0.079
Discharge	−1.44±0.72	−1.93±0.84	0.027
Change in 𝑧-score	+0.9±0.8	+0.6±0.8	0.270
HAZ
Admission	−2.12±1.12	−2.14±0.95	0.939
Discharge	−2.07±0.98	−2.15±1.13	0.803
Change in 𝑧-score	0.0±0.6	0.0±0.4	0.958
MUAC
Admission, cm	13.1±1.0	13.0±0.8	0.886
Discharge, cm	13.8±0.9	13.4±0.9	0.176
Difference, cm	+0.7±0.9	+0.4±0.6	0.230
Children who reached discharge criterion, % (𝑛)	76.5 (26)	35.0 (7)	0.004
Length of stay^‡, day	51.2±40.0	61.8±35.1	0.665
RUF intake, g/day	83.3±32.6	78.4±33.0	0.594
Poor compliance*, % (𝑛)	23.5 (8)	20.0 (4)	1.000
Prevalence of illnesses at admission, % (𝑛)
Diarrhea	5.9 (2)	15.0 (3)	0.369
Respiratory infection	61.8 (21)	55.0 (11)	0.389
Fever	41.2 (14)	30.0 (6)	0.381
Number of children with illnesses during program period, % (𝑛)
Diarrhea	11.8 (4)	20.0 (4)	0.450
Respiratory infection	58.8 (20)	35.0 (7)	0.775
Fever	11.8 (14)	20.0 (6)	0.450

WHZ: weight-for-height 𝑍-score; HAZ: height-for-age 𝑍-score; MUAC: mid-upper arm circumference, RUF: ready-to-use foods.
^†Continuous variables written as mean ± SD, categorical variables presented as % (𝑛).
^‡Length of stay for children who reached discharge criterion was defined as number of days until reaching WHZ ≥−1.5 SD; length of stay for children who did not reach discharge criterion was defined as number of days until program closure.
*Poor compliance was defined as reported inadequate RUF-Nias biscuit consumption (<80%) during the program period.
^††Independent 𝑡-test (continuous data) or Fisher’s exact test (percentages) for comparing daily and weekly programs.