OBJECTIVETo calculate the effects of malnutrition on economic productivity in China.

METHODSPROFILES was used to quantify the function consequences of malnutrition in term of protein energy malnutrition, iron deficiency and iodine deficiency.

RESULTSProductivity gained due to improved iodine nutrition. The reduction in the TGR in 1992 to 2001 increased the net present value of further economic productivity by yen 142 billion. Reduction of the TGR rate to 5% over next 10 years would result in future productivity gains with value of yen 40 billion. Productivity gain due to reductions in child stunting would result in future economic productivity gains with the value of yen 101 billion. Reducing stunting further over the next 10 years would gain yen 20 billion. Productivity gain due to reduction of iron deficiency anemia reduced by 30% over the next 10 years would gain worth yen 107 billion and if childhood anemia reduced by 30% over next 10 years would gain yen 348 billion.

CONCLUSIONThese interventions have huge economic payoff. That is likely to exceed their costs many times over.

Adult ; Child ; Child Development ; China ; Commerce ; Cost of Illness ; Costs and Cost Analysis ; Economics ; Humans ; Iodine ; deficiency ; Iron ; deficiency ; Malnutrition ; economics ; Models, Theoretical

OBJECTIVETo estimate the benefits of reductions in underweight and Vitamin A deficiency for child survival in China that might be expected as a result of lowering the prevalence of these conditions.

METHODSProfiles, a process of nutrition policy analysis was used to quantify the functional consequences of malnutrition in terms of child survival.

RESULTSUnderweight: The actual reduction in underweight between 1992 and 2001 (from 15.7% to the current 10.1%) resulted in saving of 176,000 child lives. As estimated, without improvements, 612,000 children will die due to underweight between 2001 and 2010, 281,000 (46%) of them living in western provinces. Reducing underweight prevalence from 10.1% to 8% could overall save 62,000 lives. The reduction of underweight prevalence in the west alone might save 56,000 lives. Vitamin A in China as a whole, vitamin A deficiency accounts, as estimated, for 7.5% of deaths of children 6-59 months old, representing 206,000 deaths over the past ten years. Halving the prevalence over the period would save 49,000 child lives. The higher prevalence and higher mortality rates in western provinces mean that even with only 28% of the Chinese population, over half of child deaths there are related to vitamin A.

Body Weight ; Child ; Child Welfare ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Forecasting ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Malnutrition ; complications ; epidemiology ; Models, Theoretical ; Mortality ; trends ; Prevalence ; Prognosis ; Survival Analysis ; Vitamin A Deficiency ; complications ; epidemiology ; therapy