Attia Bari, Ayesha Ayub, Muhammad Mahad Alvi, Rashidah Javed, Muhammad Yasin Alvi.
Relationship of Mid-Upper Arm Circumference and Body Mass Index for Assessing Maternal Nutritional Status.
Pak Paed J Jan ;45(2):186-91.

Objective: To determine the relationship of mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and body mass index (BMI) for assessing maternal nutrition of children under two years of age admitted with moderate and severe acute malnutrition. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Stabilization Center for malnourished children of the Children`s Hospital Lahore from June 2018 to December 2019. Material and Methods: A total of 274 mothers accompanying their children admitted for nutritional rehabilitation were included. Demographics of participants along with MUAC and BMI of every mother were taken. Results: Mean maternal age was 28.14 + 5.29 years. Mean MUAC of mothers was 25.66 + 4.14 and mean BMI was 24.08 + 5.55. Majority {182 (66.4%)} of the mothers were illiterate. Moderate to severe maternal under-nutrition was identified in 36 (13%) and 37 (13.5%) mothers were obese based on MUAC. Similarly 33 (12%) mothers had low BMI of <18.5 and 30 (10%) were obese. A significant positive correlation (r2=0.857) existed between BMI and MUAC values (p=<0.001). Conclusion: In mothers of malnourished infants both under-nutrition and obesity are prevalent. Both BMI and MUAC showed comparable results in assessing maternal nutritional status.

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