According to the research summary, "The NFHS 1992-1993 was a comprehensive
survey that collected data from over 88,000 households and covered 25 Indian
provinces. The investigators' analysis was limited to 6,285 children whose
anthropometric records were available."

Some basic issues in any research relate to sample size, defining the
population under study, methodology, and ensuring that confounding variables
are controlled in the data analysis.  This summary tells us that the
population being reported on is made up of "children from 25 Indian
provinces who have anthropometric records available."  If we make the
assumption that each of the 88,000 households only had one child (unlikely),
then the sample under study amounts to only 7.1% of the children in the
original sample.  The sample is biased in favor of children who have
anthropometric records available.  Who are these children?  Is it possible
that these children were being measured and weighed at regular intervals
precisely because there were concerns about their growth rates?

The results of this study cannot in any way be generalized to all children.
It can only be generalized to Indian children who tend to have regular
records made of their height and weight.  In the US, a sample of children
with complete anthropometric records might come close to representing the
population of all US children but even here, not all children are weighed
and measured at regular intervals.  Also, as others have pointed out, it is
unclear which growth charts are being used to compare these children.

You just can't compare apples to oranges and then, because you find they are
different, draw conclusions about how apples are inferior or how methods
used to grow apples need to be changed so the apples will be more like
oranges!

Sara Furr, MA
LLLL in Nebraska

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