Sustainable Development Goals - 17 Goals to Transform our World
Zero hunger - Goal 2

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Indicator 2.2.1: Prevalence of stunting (height for age <-2 standard deviation from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age

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Percent of US children ages 0 to 5 experiencing stunting

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Headline data

Year Value
2000 3.2
2001 3.2
2003 3.1
2005 2.9
2007 3.1
2009 2.3
2011 2.8
2013 2.2
2015 2.4

This table provides metadata for the actual indicator available from US statistics closest to the corresponding global SDG indicator. Please note that even when the global SDG indicator is fully available from US statistics, this table should be consulted for information on national methodology and other US-specific metadata information.

Actual indicator available Percent of US children from birth up to 5 years with height-for-age less than 2 standard deviations of the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards.
Actual indicator available - description
Date of national source publication October, 2015
Method of computation
Periodicity Biannually (every 2 years)
Scheduled update by national source
U.S. method of computation The number of children from birth through <5 years with height-for-age more than 2 standard deviations below the median length/height-for-age was divided by the total number of children from birth through 5 years and the result was multiplied by 100. The numbers and resulting estimate are weighted to be nationally representative. The 2013-2014 NHANES data were merged with the expanded WHO growth chart files of length/height-for-age for boys and girls by age in days. Age in months at examination on the NHANES 2013-2014 file was converted to age in days by multiplying it by 30.4375 and taking the largest integer of the result.
Comments and limitations Estimates reported for a given year pertain to pooled data for a 2-year period. The estimated percent meets the NCHS standards for reliability and precision.
Date metadata updated February, 2018
Disaggregation geography
Unit of measurement
Disaggregation categories
International and national references
Time period 2000-2014
Scheduled update by SDG team

This table provides information on metadata for SDG indicators as defined by the UN Statistical Commission. Complete global metadata is provided by the UN Statistics Division.

Indicator name Prevalence of stunting (height for age <-2 standard deviation from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age
Target name By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons.
Global indicator description Number of under-fives falling below minus 2 standard deviations from the median height-for-age of the reference population.Children under 5 years of age in the surveyed population
UN designated tier 1
UN custodial agency UNICEF (Partnering agencies: WHO)
Link to UN metadata Link opens in a new window
Organisation Centers for Disease Control/National Center for Health Statistics/National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Agency Staff Name Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Agency Survey Dataset Centers for Disease Control/National Center for Health Statistics/National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Notes
Title
Link to data source http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/index.htm opens in a new window