Growth in weight during the first year of life among the tribal of Northeast India and its comparison to NCHS growth standards

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Materials and methods Basic data were obtained for 219 infant (114 boys and 105 girls) and maternal pairs belonging to the Paite ethnic group of Manipur, Northeast India. The data for the present study were collected from November 2010 to February 2012 from hospitals and maternity clinics. The required formal consent was obtained from mothers who were willing to participate in the study as well as from the authorities of the hospitals and maternity clinics. The ethical issues of concern were considered, and the study was approved by the Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. The mothers included in the study were those who achieved full- term pregnancy. Maternal weights were measured after admission to the hospital before delivery. The newborns were measured within 24 hours of birth. All the measurements were handled independently by the researcher. Thereafter, each infant was measured at monthly intervals up to the age of 12 months, with strict adherence to ± 3 days at each age, by paying house visits. Results The mean weights of the babies at birth were 3.14 kg (girls) and 3.24 kg (boys), and at the 12th month, the mean birth weights for girls and boys were 9.40 kg and 9.94 kg, respectively. The mean weights of boys were significantly greater than those of girls throughout the study period. The maximum increase in mean weight was observed from birth to 1 month in both sexes. A comparison of correlation values at birth and 12 months revealed a greater number of correlations between mothers’ and infants’ anthropometric measurements at birth than at 12 months of age. Compared with those of the CDC/NCHS, the weight growth of the Paite infants fared slightly below the international standards. Conclusion Body growth was much more rapid during the first 6 months than during the latter half of life. Furthermore, maternal weight gain in the 9th month of pregnancy had a strong and significant influence on the growth of infants throughout the first year of life. Since mother-infant pairs are extremely beautifully and naturally entwined, close monitoring of mothers during pregnancy can aid in the overall growth and development of a child throughout his or her entire life. maternal weight birth weight infant growth growth standard Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Introduction Birth weight and weight gain through the first year of life are important indicators of the health of a child and the community in general. According to the UNICEF, birth weight is an indicator of a newborn's chances of survival, growth, long-term health, and psychosocial development [1]. A birth weight less than 2500 g is considered low birth weight (LBW) according to the WHO classification. The birth weight of a child is the result of intrauterine growth, nutritional conditions, and gestational age at birth. Understanding the unswerving effects that mothers have on their children is essential when trying to understand their overall growth and development, especially during the first year of life. This outcome eventually reflects the mother’s overall health during pregnancy. After birth, different patterns of feeding practices, maternal nutritional status, and maintenance of hygiene are likely to influence weight gain. Since overall weight gain is most rapid during the first year of life, any form of growth deficiency can have both short- term and long-term impacts, including later overweight, which is more common in children whose birth weight is less than 2500 g [2]. Additionally, infants with a low birth weight can have difficulties achieving their NCHS standard weight at 12 months [3], greater susceptibility to infections [4], and attenuated cognitive development [5]. They also lead to reduced height [6], reduced capacity to work [7], and an increased risk of obesity [8] in adulthood. The importance of linear growth during early childhood and its impact throughout life means that there is a need for more precise estimates of normal growth patterns in this phase of life, based on the results of studies that include means to control for intra and inter child variability. One surprising feature of human growth during infancy is the similarity that most infants exhibit in terms of both the amount and rate of weight gain during the first six months of life. One might expect that variation in hereditary and environmental factors between individual infants and populations would lead to marked differences in amounts and rates of growth. However, some studies [9, 10] have shown that the growth of infants with a normal birth weight from a wide variety of ethnic and socioeconomic classes in both developed and developing nations is remarkably similar during the first six months of life. Perhaps breastfeeding, which supplies nutrients, immunity, and the psychological needs of the infant, overroads the effect of variations in other aspects of the environment. After six months of age, when breast milk alone no longer meets the nutritional demands of the growing infant and when other specially prepared infant foods must be supplemented, infants from developed nations or higher socioeconomic classes may become significantly older than their less privileged counterparts from poorer environments. If nutritional and health status are alleviated early on, disadvantaged children may catch up in size. Thus, evaluating the health, growth, and nutritional status of an infant appears to be of prime value, and a periodic anthropometric survey can greatly help in assessing the health, growth, and nutritional status of infants. During infancy, the period from birth to one year, the rapidity of growth magnifies the effects of an unfavorable environment. Consequently, owing to their special nutritional needs, infants become highly vulnerable from a nutritional standpoint. Furthermore, maternal weight during pregnancy is considered a good predictor of birth weight by some scholars [11, 12, 13, 14]. Most of these studies detected a strong relationship between birth weight and the nutritional status of mothers as measured by anthropometry [15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21]. However, associations between maternal anthropometry and infant growth in longitudinal settings are rare. Despite their importance, studies on infants are scarce, especially in a longitudinal setting. Thus, the present study was conducted among Paite infants who belong to the Tibeto-Burman group of Churachandpur, Manipur, Northeast India, with the following objectives: Bring out the longitudinal growth of weight in Paite infants. Find the correlation between maternal weight at 9 months of pregnancy and infant growth through 1 year of age and to further compare their growth with CDC/NCHS standards. Materials And Methods The present study was conducted among a dominant tribal group, namely, the Paite tribal group in Manipur, Northeast India. Paite is the name of a tribe formed by confederations of clans. Official use of the term came into existence in India under the provision of Article 342 of the Constitution of India in the modification order of the Constitution, 1956. They are Tibeto-Burmese in speech and Mongoloid in physical features, with Christianity as the religion followed. The district where they reside currently receives funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). Before proceeding with the data collection, consent was obtained from the hospitals and the maternity clinic administration. All the hospitals and maternity clinics available during the study period in Churachandpur were included in the study for data collection. Detailed information regarding the nature of the work was explained to the mothers in their own mother tongue before providing their consent. Mothers who were not ready to give their consent were omitted from the study. Furthermore, babies born with deformities were not included in the study. However, low-birth-weight babies were included because their growth potential was considered normal. The study was approved by the Department of Anthropology at Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, and the ethical issues involved were taken into consideration. Longitudinal series The basic data comprised 219 infant (114 boys and 105 girls) and mother pairs. The data for the present study were collected from November 2010 to February 2012. The likelihood of continued stay of the parents or mothers in the town for a period of one year was considered. The mothers included in the study were those who achieved full -term pregnancy, i.e., 37 weeks completion to 42 weeks of gestation. The newborn was measured within 24 hours of birth. Thereafter, each infant was measured at monthly intervals up to the age of 12 months, with strict adherence to ± 3 days at each age, by paying house visits. Hence, from birth to the age of one year, each infant was weighed 13 times in the present study. However, it was not possible to maintain the same sample size due to the nature of the study. Three precious babies were lost during the early stage of the study due to poor health. In another rare and interesting case, a baby girl aged 4 months was not able to follow up from the 5th month since she was taken by her maternal grandparents who were residing in a different district. In the other few cases, the mother-infant pairs were not followed up when they moved to another city for employment opportunities. Furthermore, mother-infant pairs are sometimes missed for a month when they visit their ancestral village. In several other instances, due to issues with unreliable mobile network connectivity, which is very much the present scenario of the study area due to insurgency situations as well as improper numbering of houses, a number of subjects could not be followed up. For measuring the anthropometric variables, standard measurements given by Weiner and Lourie [ 20 ] were used for both mothers and babies. The body weights of the babies were accurately measured using the Spring Balance Weighing Scale, which is designed for infants with a capacity of 20 kilograms. The weights were recorded in kilograms with an accuracy of 20 g. Similarly, mothers’ weights were measured to the nearest 0.5 kilogram using a personal spring balance and were subjected to the minimum possible amount of clothing using a manual bathroom weighing machine. Furthermore, the data were analysed using the mean, standard deviation, and Student’s t-test, and further Pearson correlation was applied to determine any correlation between the infants and the mothers’ weight. Distance and velocity curves were also plotted for infants’ weight gain. Result Longitudinal weight gain in infants The longitudinal mean weights of both girls and boys from birth through one year of age are shown in Tables 1 and 2 . Similarly, the distance and velocity curves are depicted in Figs. 1 and 2 , respectively. Table 1 Weight of girls from birth to 12 months Age (months) N Descriptive statistics of girls’ weight (kg) Mean ±SD CV Minimum Maximum Birth 105 3.14 0.45 14.32 2.00 4.50 1 88 4.24 0.60 14.26 2.60 5.70 2 83 5.12 0.64 12.67 3.50 6.60 3 80 5.89 0.63 10.82 4.10 7.20 4 79 6.50 0.64 9.96 4.80 7.70 5 78 7.03 0.69 9.91 5.20 8.60 6 77 7.59 0.71 9.43 5.70 8.90 7 76 7.74 0.73 9.50 5.75 9.20 8 75 7.94 0.75 9.46 5.60 9.90 9 75 8.12 0.82 10.17 4.90 10.40 10 74 8.51 0.72 8.52 6.10 10.70 11 74 8.91 0.74 8.29 6.40 11.20 12 74 9.40 0.75 8.01 6.80 11.50 Table 2 Weight of boys from birth to 12 months Age (months) N Descriptive statistics of boys’ weight (kg) Mean ±SD CV Minimum Maximum Birth 114 3.24 0.45 14.05 2.20 4.50 1 99 4.66 0.65 13.95 2.80 5.80 2 93 5.64 0.71 12.71 3.90 7.00 3 92 6.46 0.72 11.20 4.70 8.25 4 91 7.08 0.76 10.81 5.10 9.00 5 88 7.61 0.81 10.75 5.80 10.10 6 88 8.22 0.89 10.90 6.10 10.70 7 88 8.30 0.84 10.15 6.50 10.50 8 87 8.49 0.83 9.84 6.90 10.90 9 88 8.76 0.78 8.94 7.20 10.70 10 88 9.08 0.75 8.30 7.70 10.80 11 88 9.46 0.76 8.05 7.90 11.20 12 88 9.94 0.77 7.83 8.20 11.70 The mean weight of the girls at birth was 3.14 kg, with values ranging between 2.00 and 4.50 kg. The mean weight of the girls increased gradually from birth until they reached the age of 1 year. At the age of 1 year, the lightest girl weighed 6.80 kg, and the heaviest one weighed 11.50 kg. The average mean birth weight of the boys was 3.24 kg, ranging between 2.20 and 4.50 kg. The average mean weight of boys’ increases gradually from birth until 1 year of age, as observed among the girls. At the age of 1 year, the difference between the lightest boy (8.20 kg) and the heaviest boy (11.70 kg) was much less than that observed among Table 3 Sex differences in weight gain (t- test) Age in months t-values df 95% Confidence Interval Lower Upper Birth 1.78 217 .011 .23 1 4.57 ** 185 .24 .603 2 5.05 ** 174 .32 .72 3 5.44 ** 170 .36 .77 4 5.25 ** 168 .36 .79 5 4.96 ** 164 .35 .82 6 4.96 ** 163 .38 .88 7 4.56 ** 162 .32 .813 8 4.41 ** 160 .306 .803 9 5.06 ** 161 .39 .88 10 4.84 ** 160 .33 .79 11 4.64 ** 160 .31 .78 12 4.44 ** 160 .29 .77 **p<0.01 To determine whether any significant differences existed between boys and girls for weight gain, Student’s t-test was applied as observed in Table 3 . It is clear from the t-values presented in the table that, at birth no significant difference was observed. However, statistically significant differences were observed for both boys and girls throughout the study period. Table 4 Mothers’ weights in the third trimester Mothers weight (9th month in kg) N Mean(± SD) CV Minimum Maximum 219 57.84(7.66) 13.25 42 80 The mean weight of the mothers, as shown in Table 4 , was 57.84 kg (± 7.66), with the lowest mothers weighing 42 kg before delivery and the heaviest mothers weighing 80 kg during the 9th month of pregnancy. Table 5 Correlations between mothers’ weight before delivery and infant mean weight at birth and at the 12th month Infant Weight (kg) Mothers’ weight Birth Girls (n = 105) 0.249* Boys (n = 114) 0.244** 12 months Girls (n = 74) 0.279* Boys (n = 87) 0.222** *p<0.05 **p<0.01 An attempt was made to determine the correlation between maternal weight in the third trimester (before delivery) and infant growth, as shown in Table 5 . The correlation values listed show that for both boys and girls, birth weight is significantly correlated with maternal weight. Table 5 shows the correlation values between maternal weight and the growth of boys and girls at the age of 12 months. This has been done to understand whether the correlations observed at birth are similar or different than the correlations at the 12th month of infant growth. A similar pattern of correlations was observed at 12th months of age between maternal weight in the third trimester and weight gain. Mean weight of girls with growth standards (Fig. 1 ) The mean weight of Paite infants from birth to 9 months was within the 50th centile of the CDC/NCHS. However, after the 9th month, the mean weight curve of the Paite girls started to fall below the 50th percentile, and by the 12th month, it was just below the 25th percentile of the CDC/NCHS standard. Mean weight of boys with growth standards (Fig. 2 ) The mean weight curve of Paite boys from birth to 3 months lies within the 75th percentile. At the 6th month, it slightly fell below the 50th percentile, and later rose slightly above the 50th percentile by the 9th month. However, by the age of 12 months, it lies almost at the 25th percentile of the CDC/NCHS. Discussion According to the WHO [ 21 ], a newborn baby weighing less than 2500 g is regarded as having a low birth weight; a normal birth weight is between 2500 and 4000 g; and a macrosoma is a birth weight greater than 4000 g. In the present study, the mean birth weight was 3.14 kg for girls and 3.24 kg for boys, falling within the normal birth weight category. The maximum increase in mean weight among girls was observed from birth to 1 month (35%), followed by 1 to 2 months (20%), and thereafter, the monthly gain in mean weight decreased from the 3rd to the 9th month. However, from the 9th month until the 12th month, once again, the monthly increment in mean weight shows an increase. The observed intra-sample variability in weight was highest at birth and 1 month and lowest at 12 months. The maximum growth in boys occurred between birth and 1 month (43.8%), followed by 1–2 months (21.03%). The least increase in the mean weight of boys was observed at 6–7 months (0.9%). The intra-sample variability showed a trend similar to that observed for girls. Previous studies on infants [ 22 , 23 ] revealed that infants double their birth weight at the 5th month and triple it by one year of age. Among the present study population, an almost similar growth pattern was observed. The birth weight of the infants doubled at the age of 4 months and triple by one year of age, which is also in accordance with the findings among Punjabi upper-class infants in Chandigarh [ 24 ]. The growth pattern follows a similar trend for both boys and girls, with boys having a higher weight value from birth to 1 year of age. There are quite a handful of longitudinal studies on infants with different types of settings that have focused and focusing on different sets of variables among infants. Arifeen et al [ 25 ] studied infant growth patterns in the slums of Dhaka in relation to birth weight, intrauterine growth retardation and prematurity until 1 year of age. In 2014, Nguyen [ 26 ] studied the weight gain of made a study on the weight growth of Vietnamese infants in rural and urban settings in Vietnam. Amirhakimi [ 27 ] performed a longitudinal growth study among high-income groups of normal Iranian children and compared the findings with Western norms. However, studies in India on longitudinal setting among infants are rare, as most studies on growth are usually concentrated on preschool-aged and school-going children. Sinha et al. [ 28 ] performed a comparison study among Lodha tribes and non-Lodha tribes of Lodhasuli, Mednipur, West Bengal on the weight gain of infants for the first two years. Bhalla [ 24 ] studied Punjabi infants in Punjab and Khadi et al. [ 29 ] studied Kannada infants for the first year of life. According to Meredith [ 30 ], body growth is much more rapid during the first 6 months after birth than during the following 6 months. A similar trend of growth was also observed among the Paite infants. The mean weight of the babies from birth through one year of age among the Paite infants was greater than for the other populations considered. The average gain from birth to 6 months in the present study population was 4.98 kg in boys and 4.45 kg in girls. A slowing of infancy growth between 6 and 12 months was observed among all the populations. A positive secular trend in growth was observed when compared with data from the past. Correlations between infants and maternal weight: Notably, among the studied mothers, only two mothers were vegetarian and the majority of them consumed iron, and folic acid throughout the pregnancy. A total of 92.5% of the mothers made antenatal visits a minimum of three times during pregnancy. However, postnatal visits (a minimum of three) were made by all the mothers during the Childs’ first year of life. The consumption of smokeless tobacco (85.5%) and drinking (6.18%) were very high among the study group, and it was observed that they did not quit during either of the carrying period. Awareness about the initiation of colostrum feeding was very high (96.9%) among the studied population. It was further observed that the majority of the individuals in the studied groups (62.2%) lived in a joint family. The educational qualifications of the mothers were comparatively low, and 84.57% were home makers. Only 7.76% of the mothers opt for home delivery. Maternal weight during pregnancy is considered a good predictor of birth by several scholars [ 21 , 31 , 12 , 13 , 32 , 14 ]. Most of these studies detected a strong relationship between birth weight and the nutritional status of mothers, as measured by anthropometry. Several studies have been carried out to determine the correlations between maternal and infant anthropometric variables at birth [ 12 , 33 , 34 ]. However, data on these correlations based on longitudinal series are limited. An attempt was made in the present study to determine the correlation between maternal weight before delivery and infant birth weight and weight gain during the first year of life. It shows how beautifully mother and infant are intertwined with each other during the first year of life. The birth weight of boys and girls is significantly correlated with mothers’ weight before delivery. These findings are supported by certain previous studies [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ]. Previous studies on the relationship between maternal anthropometry and infants at 12 months of age are rare. Furthermore, Pearson correlation was applied to determine whether maternal weight at the 9th month of pregnancy had a significant influence on the longitudinal series of weight gain. Maternal weight during the 9 months of pregnancy significantly influenced the weight gain of infants throughout their entire first life. In their studies on the influence of maternal anthropometric variables among rural Kenyan from birth to 6 months, Neuman et al. [ 17 ] reported that maternal weight (for all three trimesters) was positively correlated with infant weight, length, and the MUAC. It would be interesting to carry out further research to determine the extent to which maternal weight has an influence on or is associated with infant age. The result of the present study on weight gain during the first year of life, when compared with CDC/NCHS standards, provides much information. Complementary feeding among the present study group started as early as 3 months in rare cases, with the belief that the babies will grow larger. Complementary feeding refers to the practice of providing solid foods and liquids in addition to breast milk when a baby reaches six months of age; this practice is often influenced by cultural, regional, and parental factors. This becomes necessary to meet the baby’s nutritional needs due to the potential nutrient insufficiency of breast milk alone. However, the majority of the mothers started complementary feeding at 6 months in accordance with WHO guidelines. With the initiation of complementary feeding, most kids are fed only mashed rice mixed with potato, salt, or water without emphasizing the importance of giving varieties a well-balanced diet until they are 1 year of age. This practice seems to be the norm among the study population in regard to feeding an infant, and little distinction is observed between educated and uneducated mothers and parents or according to socioeconomic conditions. This has been their way of life and practice for a long period of time. This could be the main reason for the decline in growth at approximately 5 to 6 months of age. However, the scenario changed once the child turned 1 with the inclusion of varieties of food, fruits and meat that were highly consumed among the study population with no restriction. Thus, further research could be conducted to determine how children perform after the age of 1 year and accordingly compare their results with the standards again. make a comparison with standards again. One limitation of this study is that encountered in this study is that the infants were followed for only a year, and we could only measure the third trimester weight of the mothers. However, much insight could be drawn from this study group, which has not been fully explored. Thus, in conclusion, since the mother-infant pairs are so beautifully and naturally entwined, it is important to provide counselling centres at every prenatal checkup to expectant mothers about the strong impact they have on their unborn child, which can influence their entire lifetime. Abbreviations UNICEF: United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund WHO: World Health Organization LBW: Low Birth Weight CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention NCHS: National Center for Health Statistics Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate- The issues concerned with ethics are considered and the study was approved by the Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, India. An informed consent was obtained from mothers who were willing to participate in the study. Consent for publication- Approved Availability of data and raw materials- The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request Competing interests- NA Funding- Nil Authors’ contributions- Evelyn Ngaithianven collected the data, written the manuscript and edited it accordingly. Acknowledgement-: I would like to thank the mother-infant pairs who made this study possible and invited me into their homes to witness the growth of their children during the first year of life. Thanks are also due to the hospital administrator and staff for giving their permission and welcoming me warmly to conduct the present study. Special thanks go to my mentor (L), Dr. R. K. Pathak, for his support and valuable guidance throughout the study period. References UNICEF: ChildInfo. Monitoring the Situation of Children and Women. Statistics By Area / Child Nutrition. A World Fit for Children Goal. 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Tabrizi FM, Sarawathi G. Maternal anthropometric measurements and other factors: relation with birth weight of neonates. Nutrition Research and Practice. 2012; 6(2): 132-137. Ugwa EA. Maternal anthropometric characteristics as determinants of birth weight in North‑West Nigeria: a prospective study. Nigerian Journal of Basic and Clinical Sciences . 2014; 11(1): 8-12. Sahu KK, Agarwal M, Ahmed M, Singh SK, Khanna A. Incidence of low birth weight and effect of maternal factors on birth weight of neonates in rural areas of Uttar Pradesh. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development 2015; 2(3): 707-715. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3826285","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":265686707,"identity":"90c3c56c-3b96-434a-9307-821295f0a853","order_by":0,"name":"Ngaithianven Evelyn","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA80lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFADdiD+AMRs7ERrYWZgYJwB0sJMihZmHigDLzA43mP4uIDBJrGfmcfssc2vbfJ8zAyMHz7m4NFy5oyx8QyGtMSZzTzmxrl9tw3bmBmYJWduw61FckZamjQPw2Fjg8M8ZtK5PbcZgVrYmHnxaZn/LP03D8N/Y3uQFsue2/YEtfBLMB8D+vqAnAHQL9IMP24nEtbCk3xYmscgWU7iMFuZZG/D7eQ2ZsZmvH5hYz/Y+Jmnwo6Hv715m8SPP7dt57c3H/zwEY8WCDAAERwGDIxtIAZjAyH1MMD+gIHhD7GKR8EoGAWjYCQBADEmQxmLeq7HAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Panjab University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ngaithianven","middleName":"","lastName":"Evelyn","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2023-12-31 17:14:13","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3826285/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3826285/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":49383143,"identity":"94c32e19-b425-4b37-a6af-e0f5e5c9cdae","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-01-09 19:42:10","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":367219,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComparison of the mean weight of girls with the CDC and NCHS standards\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3826285/v1/c84af938f32ab9841da81fd6.png"},{"id":49383142,"identity":"28202ebc-cc55-4b58-8641-b10131af1211","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-01-09 19:42:10","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":569674,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComparison of the mean weight of boys with the CDC and NCHS standards\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3826285/v1/c961cb36e518911a05d207d3.png"},{"id":59237370,"identity":"7f02f2a5-3766-4e6f-b9ee-3ae0fa213fce","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-06-28 04:24:24","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1776319,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3826285/v1/b85cad90-c66a-453b-a041-3707272767fa.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Growth in weight during the first year of life among the tribal of Northeast India and its comparison to NCHS growth standards","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eBirth weight and weight gain through the first year of life are important indicators of the health of a child and the community in general. According to the UNICEF, birth weight is an indicator of a newborn\u0026apos;s chances of survival, growth, long-term health, and psychosocial development [1]. A birth weight less than 2500 g is considered low birth weight (LBW) according to the WHO classification. The birth weight of a child is the result of intrauterine growth, nutritional conditions, and gestational age at birth. Understanding the unswerving effects that mothers have on their children is essential when trying to understand their overall growth and development, especially during the first year of life. This outcome eventually reflects the mother\u0026rsquo;s overall health during pregnancy. After birth, different patterns of feeding practices, maternal nutritional status, and maintenance of hygiene are likely to influence weight gain. Since overall weight gain is most rapid during the first year of life, any form of growth deficiency can have both short- term and long-term impacts, including later overweight, which is more common in children whose birth weight is less than 2500 g [2]. Additionally, infants with a low birth weight can have difficulties achieving their NCHS standard weight at 12 months [3], greater susceptibility to infections [4], and attenuated cognitive development [5]. They also lead to reduced height [6], reduced capacity to work [7], and an increased risk of obesity [8] in adulthood. The importance of linear growth during early childhood and its impact throughout life means that there is a need for more precise estimates of normal growth patterns in this phase of life, based on the results of studies that include means to control for intra and inter child variability.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne surprising feature of human growth during infancy is the similarity that most infants exhibit in terms of both the amount and rate of weight gain during the first six months of life. One might expect that variation in hereditary and environmental factors between individual infants and populations would lead to marked differences in amounts and rates of growth. However, some studies [9, 10] have shown that the growth of infants with a normal birth weight from a wide variety of ethnic and socioeconomic classes in both developed and developing nations is remarkably similar during the first six months of life. Perhaps breastfeeding, which supplies nutrients, immunity, and the psychological needs of the infant, overroads the effect of variations in other aspects of the environment. After six months of age, when breast milk alone no longer meets the nutritional demands of the growing infant and when other specially prepared infant foods must be supplemented, infants from developed nations or higher socioeconomic classes may become significantly older than their less privileged counterparts from poorer environments. If nutritional and health status are alleviated early on, disadvantaged children may catch up in size. Thus, evaluating the health, growth, and nutritional status of an infant appears to be of prime value, and a periodic anthropometric survey can greatly help in assessing the health, growth, and nutritional status of infants. During infancy, the period from birth to one year, the rapidity of growth magnifies the effects of an unfavorable environment. Consequently, owing to their special nutritional needs, infants become highly vulnerable from a nutritional standpoint.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFurthermore, maternal weight during pregnancy is considered a good predictor of birth weight by some scholars [11, 12, 13, 14]. Most of these studies detected a strong relationship between birth weight and the nutritional status of mothers as measured by anthropometry [15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21]. However, associations between maternal anthropometry and infant growth in longitudinal settings are rare. Despite their importance, studies on infants are scarce, especially in a longitudinal setting. Thus, the present study was conducted among Paite infants who belong to the Tibeto-Burman group of Churachandpur, Manipur, Northeast India, with the following objectives:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col start=\"1\" type=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eBring out the longitudinal growth of weight in Paite infants.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eFind the correlation between maternal weight at 9 months of pregnancy and infant growth through 1 year of age and to further compare their growth with CDC/NCHS standards.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"},{"header":"Materials And Methods","content":" \u003cp\u003eThe present study was conducted among a dominant tribal group, namely, the Paite tribal group in Manipur, Northeast India. Paite is the name of a tribe formed by confederations of clans. Official use of the term came into existence in India under the provision of Article 342 of the Constitution of India in the modification order of the Constitution, 1956. They are Tibeto-Burmese in speech and Mongoloid in physical features, with Christianity as the religion followed. The district where they reside currently receives funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). Before proceeding with the data collection, consent was obtained from the hospitals and the maternity clinic administration. All the hospitals and maternity clinics available during the study period in Churachandpur were included in the study for data collection. Detailed information regarding the nature of the work was explained to the mothers in their own mother tongue before providing their consent. Mothers who were not ready to give their consent were omitted from the study. Furthermore, babies born with deformities were not included in the study. However, low-birth-weight babies were included because their growth potential was considered normal. The study was approved by the Department of Anthropology at Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, and the ethical issues involved were taken into consideration.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec2\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eLongitudinal series\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe basic data comprised 219 infant (114 boys and 105 girls) and mother pairs. The data for the present study were collected from November 2010 to February 2012. The likelihood of continued stay of the parents or mothers in the town for a period of one year was considered. The mothers included in the study were those who achieved full -term pregnancy, i.e., 37 weeks completion to 42 weeks of gestation. The newborn was measured within 24 hours of birth. Thereafter, each infant was measured at monthly intervals up to the age of 12 months, with strict adherence to \u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;3 days at each age, by paying house visits. Hence, from birth to the age of one year, each infant was weighed 13 times in the present study. However, it was not possible to maintain the same sample size due to the nature of the study. Three precious babies were lost during the early stage of the study due to poor health. In another rare and interesting case, a baby girl aged 4 months was not able to follow up from the 5th month since she was taken by her maternal grandparents who were residing in a different district. In the other few cases, the mother-infant pairs were not followed up when they moved to another city for employment opportunities. Furthermore, mother-infant pairs are sometimes missed for a month when they visit their ancestral village. In several other instances, due to issues with unreliable mobile network connectivity, which is very much the present scenario of the study area due to insurgency situations as well as improper numbering of houses, a number of subjects could not be followed up.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor measuring the anthropometric variables, standard measurements given by Weiner and Lourie [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e] were used for both mothers and babies. The body weights of the babies were accurately measured using the Spring Balance Weighing Scale, which is designed for infants with a capacity of 20 kilograms. The weights were recorded in kilograms with an accuracy of 20 g. Similarly, mothers\u0026rsquo; weights were measured to the nearest 0.5 kilogram using a personal spring balance and were subjected to the minimum possible amount of clothing using a manual bathroom weighing machine. Furthermore, the data were analysed using the mean, standard deviation, and Student\u0026rsquo;s t-test, and further Pearson correlation was applied to determine any correlation between the infants and the mothers\u0026rsquo; weight. Distance and velocity curves were also plotted for infants\u0026rsquo; weight gain.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Result","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eLongitudinal weight gain in infants\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe longitudinal mean weights of both girls and boys from birth through one year of age are shown in Tables\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e and \u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e. Similarly, the distance and velocity curves are depicted in Figs.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e and \u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, respectively.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWeight of girls from birth to 12 months\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(months)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"5\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDescriptive statistics of girls\u0026rsquo; weight (kg)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026plusmn;SD\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCV\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMinimum\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaximum\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBirth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e105\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.26\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e 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colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.82\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e79\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.64\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.96\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e 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\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.43\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e76\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.74\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.73\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.94\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.82\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e74\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.51\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e74\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.91\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.74\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e74\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.01\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.80\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWeight of boys from birth to 12 months\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(months)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"5\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDescriptive statistics of boys\u0026rsquo; weight (kg)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026plusmn;SD\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCV\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMinimum\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaximum\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBirth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e114\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e99\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.65\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.95\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.80\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.80\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.64\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e92\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e91\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.08\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.76\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.80\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.22\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.89\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.83\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.76\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.94\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.08\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.80\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.76\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.94\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.83\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe mean weight of the girls at birth was 3.14 kg, with values ranging between 2.00 and 4.50 kg. The mean weight of the girls increased gradually from birth until they reached the age of 1 year. At the age of 1 year, the lightest girl weighed 6.80 kg, and the heaviest one weighed 11.50 kg.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe average mean birth weight of the boys was 3.24 kg, ranging between 2.20 and 4.50 kg. The average mean weight of boys\u0026rsquo; increases gradually from birth until 1 year of age, as observed among the girls. At the age of 1 year, the difference between the lightest boy (8.20 kg) and the heaviest boy (11.70 kg) was much less than that observed among\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSex differences in weight gain (t- test)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge in months\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003et-values\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003edf\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95% Confidence Interval\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLower\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUpper\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBirth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e217\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.011\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.57\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e185\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.603\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.05\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e174\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.44\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e170\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.36\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.25\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e168\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.36\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.79\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.96\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e164\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.82\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.96\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e163\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.38\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.56\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e162\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.813\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.41\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e160\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.306\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.803\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.06\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e161\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.84\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e160\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.79\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.64\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e160\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.44\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e160\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"5\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cb\u003e**p\u0026lt;0.01\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo determine whether any significant differences existed between boys and girls for weight gain, Student\u0026rsquo;s t-test was applied as observed in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e. It is clear from the t-values presented in the table that, at birth no significant difference was observed. However, statistically significant differences were observed for both boys and girls throughout the study period.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMothers\u0026rsquo; weights in the third trimester\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMothers weight (9th month in kg)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean(\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;SD)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCV\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMinimum\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaximum\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e219\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e57.84(7.66)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e13.25\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e42\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e80\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe mean weight of the mothers, as shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e, was 57.84 kg (\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;7.66), with the lowest mothers weighing 42 kg before delivery and the heaviest mothers weighing 80 kg during the 9th month of pregnancy.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCorrelations between mothers\u0026rsquo; weight before delivery and infant mean weight at birth and at the 12th month\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInfant\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWeight (kg)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMothers\u0026rsquo; weight\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBirth\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGirls (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;105) 0.249*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBoys (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;114)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.244**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e12 months\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGirls (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;74) 0.279*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBoys (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;87)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.222**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cb\u003e*p\u0026lt;0.05\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cb\u003e**p\u0026lt;0.01\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAn attempt was made to determine the correlation between maternal weight in the third trimester (before delivery) and infant growth, as shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e. The correlation values listed show that for both boys and girls, birth weight is significantly correlated with maternal weight. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e shows the correlation values between maternal weight and the growth of boys and girls at the age of 12 months. This has been done to understand whether the correlations observed at birth are similar or different than the correlations at the 12th month of infant growth. A similar pattern of correlations was observed at 12th months of age between maternal weight in the third trimester and weight gain.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section4\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eMean weight of girls with growth standards (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe mean weight of Paite infants from birth to 9 months was within the 50th centile of the CDC/NCHS. However, after the 9th month, the mean weight curve of the Paite girls started to fall below the 50th percentile, and by the 12th month, it was just below the 25th percentile of the CDC/NCHS standard.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eMean weight of boys with growth standards (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe mean weight curve of Paite boys from birth to 3 months lies within the 75th percentile. At the 6th month, it slightly fell below the 50th percentile, and later rose slightly above the 50th percentile by the 9th month. However, by the age of 12 months, it lies almost at the 25th percentile of the CDC/NCHS.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eAccording to the WHO [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e], a newborn baby weighing less than 2500 g is regarded as having a low birth weight; a normal birth weight is between 2500 and 4000 g; and a macrosoma is a birth weight greater than 4000 g. In the present study, the mean birth weight was 3.14 kg for girls and 3.24 kg for boys, falling within the normal birth weight category. The maximum increase in mean weight among girls was observed from birth to 1 month (35%), followed by 1 to 2 months (20%), and thereafter, the monthly gain in mean weight decreased from the 3rd to the 9th month. However, from the 9th month until the 12th month, once again, the monthly increment in mean weight shows an increase. The observed intra-sample variability in weight was highest at birth and 1 month and lowest at 12 months. The maximum growth in boys occurred between birth and 1 month (43.8%), followed by 1\u0026ndash;2 months (21.03%). The least increase in the mean weight of boys was observed at 6\u0026ndash;7 months (0.9%). The intra-sample variability showed a trend similar to that observed for girls. Previous studies on infants [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e] revealed that infants double their birth weight at the 5th month and triple it by one year of age. Among the present study population, an almost similar growth pattern was observed. The birth weight of the infants doubled at the age of 4 months and triple by one year of age, which is also in accordance with the findings among Punjabi upper-class infants in Chandigarh [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e]. The growth pattern follows a similar trend for both boys and girls, with boys having a higher weight value from birth to 1 year of age. There are quite a handful of longitudinal studies on infants with different types of settings that have focused and focusing on different sets of variables among infants. Arifeen et al [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e] studied infant growth patterns in the slums of Dhaka in relation to birth weight, intrauterine growth retardation and prematurity until 1 year of age. In 2014, Nguyen [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e] studied the weight gain of made a study on the weight growth of Vietnamese infants in rural and urban settings in Vietnam. Amirhakimi [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e] performed a longitudinal growth study among high-income groups of normal Iranian children and compared the findings with Western norms. However, studies in India on longitudinal setting among infants are rare, as most studies on growth are usually concentrated on preschool-aged and school-going children. Sinha et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e] performed a comparison study among Lodha tribes and non-Lodha tribes of Lodhasuli, Mednipur, West Bengal on the weight gain of infants for the first two years. Bhalla [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e] studied Punjabi infants in Punjab and Khadi et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e] studied Kannada infants for the first year of life.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to Meredith [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e], body growth is much more rapid during the first 6 months after birth than during the following 6 months. A similar trend of growth was also observed among the Paite infants. The mean weight of the babies from birth through one year of age among the Paite infants was greater than for the other populations considered. The average gain from birth to 6 months in the present study population was 4.98 kg in boys and 4.45 kg in girls. A slowing of infancy growth between 6 and 12 months was observed among all the populations. A positive secular trend in growth was observed when compared with data from the past.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eCorrelations between infants and maternal weight:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotably, among the studied mothers, only two mothers were vegetarian and the majority of them consumed iron, and folic acid throughout the pregnancy. A total of 92.5% of the mothers made antenatal visits a minimum of three times during pregnancy. However, postnatal visits (a minimum of three) were made by all the mothers during the Childs\u0026rsquo; first year of life. The consumption of smokeless tobacco (85.5%) and drinking (6.18%) were very high among the study group, and it was observed that they did not quit during either of the carrying period. Awareness about the initiation of colostrum feeding was very high (96.9%) among the studied population. It was further observed that the majority of the individuals in the studied groups (62.2%) lived in a joint family. The educational qualifications of the mothers were comparatively low, and 84.57% were home makers. Only 7.76% of the mothers opt for home delivery.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaternal weight during pregnancy is considered a good predictor of birth by several scholars [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e]. Most of these studies detected a strong relationship between birth weight and the nutritional status of mothers, as measured by anthropometry. Several studies have been carried out to determine the correlations between maternal and infant anthropometric variables at birth [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e33\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e]. However, data on these correlations based on longitudinal series are limited. An attempt was made in the present study to determine the correlation between maternal weight before delivery and infant birth weight and weight gain during the first year of life. It shows how beautifully mother and infant are intertwined with each other during the first year of life. The birth weight of boys and girls is significantly correlated with mothers\u0026rsquo; weight before delivery. These findings are supported by certain previous studies [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e]. Previous studies on the relationship between maternal anthropometry and infants at 12 months of age are rare.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurthermore, Pearson correlation was applied to determine whether maternal weight at the 9th month of pregnancy had a significant influence on the longitudinal series of weight gain. Maternal weight during the 9 months of pregnancy significantly influenced the weight gain of infants throughout their entire first life. In their studies on the influence of maternal anthropometric variables among rural Kenyan from birth to 6 months, Neuman et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e] reported that maternal weight (for all three trimesters) was positively correlated with infant weight, length, and the MUAC. It would be interesting to carry out further research to determine the extent to which maternal weight has an influence on or is associated with infant age.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe result of the present study on weight gain during the first year of life, when compared with CDC/NCHS standards, provides much information. Complementary feeding among the present study group started as early as 3 months in rare cases, with the belief that the babies will grow larger. Complementary feeding refers to the practice of providing solid foods and liquids in addition to breast milk when a baby reaches six months of age; this practice is often influenced by cultural, regional, and parental factors. This becomes necessary to meet the baby\u0026rsquo;s nutritional needs due to the potential nutrient insufficiency of breast milk alone. However, the majority of the mothers started complementary feeding at 6 months in accordance with WHO guidelines. With the initiation of complementary feeding, most kids are fed only mashed rice mixed with potato, salt, or water without emphasizing the importance of giving varieties a well-balanced diet until they are 1 year of age. This practice seems to be the norm among the study population in regard to feeding an infant, and little distinction is observed between educated and uneducated mothers and parents or according to socioeconomic conditions. This has been their way of life and practice for a long period of time. This could be the main reason for the decline in growth at approximately 5 to 6 months of age. However, the scenario changed once the child turned 1 with the inclusion of varieties of food, fruits and meat that were highly consumed among the study population with no restriction. Thus, further research could be conducted to determine how children perform after the age of 1 year and accordingly compare their results with the standards again. make a comparison with standards again. One limitation of this study is that encountered in this study is that the infants were followed for only a year, and we could only measure the third trimester weight of the mothers. However, much insight could be drawn from this study group, which has not been fully explored.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThus, in conclusion, since the mother-infant pairs are so beautifully and naturally entwined, it is important to provide counselling centres at every prenatal checkup to expectant mothers about the strong impact they have on their unborn child, which can influence their entire lifetime.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Abbreviations","content":"\u003cp\u003eUNICEF: United Nations International Children\u0026rsquo;s Emergency Fund\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWHO: World Health Organization\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLBW: Low Birth Weight\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNCHS: National Center for Health Statistics\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003col\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate- The issues concerned with ethics are considered and the study was approved by the Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, India. An informed consent was obtained from mothers who were willing to participate in the study.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eConsent for publication- Approved\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eAvailability of data and raw materials-\u0026nbsp;The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eCompeting interests- NA\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eFunding- Nil\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eAuthors\u0026rsquo; contributions- Evelyn Ngaithianven collected the data, written the manuscript and edited it accordingly.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgement-: I would like to thank the mother-infant pairs who made this study possible and invited me into their homes to witness the growth of their children during the first year of life. Thanks are also due to the hospital administrator and staff for giving their permission and welcoming me warmly to conduct the present study. Special thanks go to my mentor (L), Dr. R. K. Pathak, for his support and valuable guidance throughout the study period.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUNICEF: ChildInfo. Monitoring the Situation of Children and Women. Statistics By Area / Child Nutrition. A World Fit for Children Goal. Available from: [http://wwwchildinfoorg/low_birthweighthtml] 2013.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMohammadzadeh A, Farhat A, Amiri R, Esmaeeli H. Effect of Birth Weight and Socioeconomic Status on Children\u0026apos;s Growth in Mashhad, Iran. \u003cem\u003eInt J Pediatr\u003c/em\u003e. 2010:1-5.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHien NT, Ushijima H. Nutrition status of low birth weight ethnic minority infants in Backan province, Vietnam. \u003cem\u003ePediatr Int. \u003c/em\u003e2007; 9(2):266-272.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cu\u003eVictora CG\u003c/u\u003e, Adair L, Fall C, Hallal PC, Martorell R, Richter L, Sachdev HS. 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Incidence of low birth weight and effect of maternal factors on birth weight of neonates in rural areas of Uttar Pradesh. \u003cem\u003eInternational Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development\u003c/em\u003e 2015; 2(3): 707-715.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"maternal weight, birth weight, infant growth, growth standard","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3826285/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3826285/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eObjectives\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo determine the longitudinal growth and weight of tribal infants in Northeast India and compare their growth with CDC/NCHS growth standards.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMaterials and methods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBasic data were obtained for 219 infant (114 boys and 105 girls) and maternal pairs belonging to the Paite ethnic group of Manipur, Northeast India. The data for the present study were collected from November 2010 to February 2012 from hospitals and maternity clinics. The required formal consent was obtained from mothers who were willing to participate in the study as well as from the authorities of the hospitals and maternity clinics. The ethical issues of concern were considered, and the study was approved by the Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. The mothers included in the study were those who achieved full- term pregnancy. Maternal weights were measured after admission to the hospital before delivery. The newborns were measured within 24 hours of birth. All the measurements were handled independently by the researcher. Thereafter, each infant was measured at monthly intervals up to the age of 12 months, with strict adherence to \u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;3 days at each age, by paying house visits.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe mean weights of the babies at birth were 3.14 kg (girls) and 3.24 kg (boys), and at the 12th month, the mean birth weights for girls and boys were 9.40 kg and 9.94 kg, respectively. The mean weights of boys were significantly greater than those of girls throughout the study period. The maximum increase in mean weight was observed from birth to 1 month in both sexes. A comparison of correlation values at birth and 12 months revealed a greater number of correlations between mothers\u0026rsquo; and infants\u0026rsquo; anthropometric measurements at birth than at 12 months of age. Compared with those of the CDC/NCHS, the weight growth of the Paite infants fared slightly below the international standards.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBody growth was much more rapid during the first 6 months than during the latter half of life. Furthermore, maternal weight gain in the 9th month of pregnancy had a strong and significant influence on the growth of infants throughout the first year of life. Since mother-infant pairs are extremely beautifully and naturally entwined, close monitoring of mothers during pregnancy can aid in the overall growth and development of a child throughout his or her entire life.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Growth in weight during the first year of life among the tribal of Northeast India and its comparison to NCHS growth standards","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-01-09 19:42:05","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3826285/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"1827133a-9de5-49ee-99fb-b77cd32cd48b","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 9th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-06-28T04:16:17+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-01-09 19:42:05","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-3826285","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-3826285","identity":"rs-3826285","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}