The 'Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure' (CIAF) was developed by Svedberg as an improvement over standard malnutrition indices. It is preferred because:

• A It measures malnutrition using hemoglobin levels and anthropometric parameters together
• B It uses MUAC as the primary measurement, which is more accurate than weight and height
• C It classifies malnutrition into three grades based on weight-for-age Z-scores
• D It includes children who fail on at least one of wasting, stunting, or underweight, avoiding double-counting ✓

Explanation

CIAF (Svedberg, 2000) is a composite measure that classifies all children failing on one or more of three standard anthropometric measures — wasting (WHZ < -2SD), stunting (HAZ < -2SD), or underweight (WAZ < -2SD) — into a single total failure group, while excluding those who pass all three measures. Traditional use of separate indices leads to double-counting (a child who is both stunted and underweight is counted twice). CIAF provides a single prevalence estimate for 'any anthropometric failure.' It does not incorporate biochemical markers like hemoglobin.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.