Definition
For household members under age 5, HWCWTHTPCTRM (HC12) reports their weight-for-height as a percent of the median weight in growth charts by height and sex developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Low weight-for-height, or "wasting," is an indicator of acute malnutrition. The 5th percentile on growth charts has often been used as a screening cutoff to identify infants and children at greater nutritional and health risk.
HWCWEIGHT (HC2) reports the young household member's weight as measured by DHS personnel. HWCHEIGHT (HC3) reports their measured height in centimeters. The related variable AGEMOHHLT5 (HC1) reports age in months at the time of measurement.
For an alternative measure of wasting in terms of weight-for-height using the same reference population, see HWCWHZNCHS (HC11). HWCWHZNCHS reports the difference between the young household member's weight and the median weight of the CDC reference population of the same height and sex, expressed in units equal to one standard deviation of the reference population's distribution.