Percent of US children from birth up to 5 years with height-for-age less than 2 standard deviations of the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards.

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Headline data

Percent of US children ages 0 to 5 experiencing stunting
Year Value
2000 3.2
2001 3.1
2003 2.9
2005 3.1
2007 2.3
2009 2.8
2011 2.2
2013 2.4
2015 3.5
2017 3.4

Source: Centers for Disease Control/National Center for Health Statistics/National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Geographical Area:

Unit of Measurement:

Footnote:

This table provides metadata for the actual indicator available from United States statistics closest to the corresponding global SDG indicator. Please note that even when the global SDG indicator is fully available from American statistics, this table should be consulted for information on national methodology and other American-specific metadata information.

Indicator

Percent of US children from birth up to 5 years with height-for-age less than 2 standard deviations of the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards.
Organisation

Centers for Disease Control/National Center for Health Statistics/National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Data sources

Centers for Disease Control/National Center for Health Statistics/National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/index.htm
Data providers

Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Comment and limitations

The reported estimates were derived by combining two years of NHANES data (e.g., 1999–2000). Data is also accessible for the COVID period (e.g., 2017–2020 = 3.9), wherein the computation was derived from a dataset spanning 3.2 years, deviating from the conventional two-year data cycle. The estimated percent meets the NCHS standards for reliability and precision.
Method of computation

The number of children from birth through <5 years with height-for-age more than 2 standard deviations below the median length/height-for-age was divided by the total number of children from birth through 5 years and the result was multiplied by 100. The numbers and resulting estimate are weighted to be nationally representative. The 2013-2014 NHANES data were merged with the expanded WHO growth chart files of length/height-for-age for boys and girls by age in days. Age in months at examination on the NHANES 2013-2014 file was converted to age in days by multiplying it by 30.4375 and taking the largest integer of the result.
Date of national source publication

October, 2015
Periodicity

Biannually (every 2 years)
Date metadata updated

February, 2024
Time period

2000-2017

This table provides information on metadata for SDG indicators as defined by the UN Statistical Commission. Complete global metadata is provided by the UN Statistics Division.

Indicator

Indicator 2.2.1: Prevalence of stunting (height for age <-2 standard deviation from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age
Target

Target 2.2: by 2030 end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving by 2025 the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under five years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women, and older persons
Organisation

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

World Health Organization (WHO)

World Bank (WB)
Definition and concepts

Definition:

Prevalence of stunting (height-for-age <-2 standard deviation from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age.

(French: pourcentage de retard de croissance (i.e., longueur/taille pour l'âge <-2 écarts types par rapport à la médiane des normes de croissance de l'enfant de l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé (OMS)) chez les enfants de moins de cinq ans; Spanish: porcentaje de retraso del crecimiento (i.e., longitud/estatura para la edad < -2 desviaciones estándar de la mediana de los estándares de crecimiento infantil de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS)) en los niños y niñas menores de cinco años de edad )

Concepts:

The UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Joint Malnutrition Estimates (JME) working group generates modelled estimates for 205 countries and territories utilizing primary data sources (e.g., household surveys ). The global SDG Indicators Database only contains modelled estimates. Primary data sources can be found at data.unicef.org/nutrition/malnutrition.html, https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/joint-child-malnutrition-estimates-unicef-who-wb, http://datatopics.worldbank.org/child-malnutrition.
Unit of measure

Proportion
Data sources

For the majority of countries, nationally representative household surveys constitute the primary data source used to generate the JME modelled estimates. For a limited number of countries, data from surveillance systems are also used as a primary data source for generation of the JME modelled estimates if sufficient population coverage is documented (about 80%). For both types of primary data sources, the child’s height/length and date of birth as well as date of measurement (to generate age in days) have to be collected following recommended standard measuring techniques (WHO/UNICEF 2019).

Data providers

The majority of the data sources used are nationally representative household surveys e.g., Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and National Nutrition Surveys (NNS). Some data come from other sources (administrative, sentinel systems). Data providers vary and most commonly are ministries of health, national offices of statistics or national institutes of nutrition.

Comment and limitations

Survey estimates have uncertainty due to both sampling error and non-sampling error (e.g., measurement technical error, recording error etc.,). The JME modelled estimates for stunting take into account estimates of sampling error around survey estimates. While non-sampling error cannot be accounted for or reviewed in full, when available, a data quality review of weight, height and age data from household surveys supports compilation of a time series that is comparable across countries and over time.

The JME working group carefully utilizes all available national data sources, and documents all the steps taken to infer about country trends based on the national data sources. The estimation method (McClain et al 2018) is based on and closely aligned to country data. The approach smooths and fits a trend line across the national data points. The basis of the estimates are nationally representative household surveys. However, as surveys are conducted infrequently (e.g., less frequently than every 3 years) in some countries, models produce a complete time series with estimates available in the same years for all countries. This allows for comparable assessment of progress; for example, all countries can be assessed using the same baseline year. For any individual country, an increase in the availability of primary data points can result in more robust and accurate modelled estimates.
Method of computation

National estimates from primary sources (e.g., from household surveys) used to generate the JME country modelled estimates are based on standardized methodology using the WHO Child Growth Standards as described in Recommendations for data collection, analysis and reporting on anthropometric indicators in children under 5 years old (WHO/UNICEF 2019) and WHO Anthro Survey Analyser (WHO, 2019). The JME country modelled estimates are generated using smoothing techniques and covariates (McLain et al. 2018) applied to quality-assured national data to derive trends and up-to-date estimates. Worldwide and regional estimates are derived as the respective country averages weighted by the countries’ under-five population estimates (UNPD-WPP latest available edition) using annual JME country modelled estimates. .

Metadata update

2024-07-29
International organisations(s) responsible for global monitoring

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

World Health Organization (WHO)

World Bank (WB)
Related indicators

Good nutrition lays the foundation for achieving many of the SDGs with improvements in nutrition directly supporting the achievement of SDG3 (ensuring healthy lives), while also playing a role in ending poverty (SDG1), ensuring quality education (SDG4), achieving gender equality (SDG5), promoting economic growth (SDG8), and reducing inequalities (SDG10). In this way, nutrition is the lifeblood of sustainable development, and drives the changes needed for a more sustainable and prosperous future.
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