Anthropometric status of Kazakh children in the 1990s

The 1990s were a period of considerable economic and social instability in Kazakhstan. The current study documents information on the growth performance of children living in Kazalinsk district in the far west of Kazakhstan over this turbulent period. Using anthropometric data of children, from random samples collected in 1992, 1994 and 2000, we investigate changes in body size of 4.0–4.9-year-old children over the 8-year-study period. Between 1992 and 2000, there was no statistically significant change in body size of 4.0–4.9-year-old boys, but 4.0–4.9-year-old girls became significantly smaller. This may have resulted from the prolonged period of economic instability in Kazakhstan. Furthermore, using detailed dietary intake data collected in 1994, evidence is presented to support a suggestion that the different responses to economic hardship, evidenced in the achieved body size of boys and girls, may have been influenced by gender-discrimination in household food allocation.