Berita Kedokteran Masyarakat
Vol 42 No 02 (2026)

Weight faltering and its association with wasting and stunting in Indonesian infants

Dinari, Rizka (Unknown)
Oktaria, Vicka (Unknown)
Julia, Madarina (Unknown)
Danchin, Margaret (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
02 Feb 2026

Abstract

Purpose: To describe the prevalence of weight faltering, wasting, and stunting in infancy and explore their associations. Methods: This secondary analysis used a 2015-2017 birth-longitudinal cohort study in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Mean Z-scores for weight-for-age (WAZ), length-for-age (LAZ), and weight-for-length (WLZ) were presented. Weight faltering, wasting, and stunting were assessed. Weight faltering refers to a deceleration in weight that crosses two major percentiles relative to the 2006 WHO Child Growth Standards, evaluated at 0-6 and 6-12 months. Wasting is defined as WLZ<-2 SD, while stunting is LAZ<-2 SD. The association between weight faltering and undernutrition at 6 and 12 months was explored using logistic regression. Results: This study included 294 of 422 participants from the original cohort study. The prevalence of wasting and stunting peaked at 7 months (13%, 6/45) and at 12 months (17%, 25/150), respectively. Weight faltering at 0-6 months (10%, 28/293) was higher than in 6-12 months (4%, 10/250). Bivariate analysis showed that weight faltering at 0-6 months was significantly associated with wasting at 6 months (OR 10.89, 95% CI 3.41-34.80, p-value<0.001) and at 12 months (OR 7.17, 95% CI 1.53-33.49, p-value=0.027), but not with stunting. Conclusion: The prevalence of weight faltering and wasting was higher at 6-7 months of life, whereas stunting was higher at 12 months. Despite showing no significant association with stunting, infants with weight faltering have a higher risk of wasting. Identification of weight faltering is essential to signal the need for further clinical investigation and to enable early intervention to prevent the onset of wasting.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

bkm

Publisher

Subject

Nursing Public Health

Description

Berita Kedokteran Masyarakat (BKM Public Health and Community Medicine) is a peer-reviewed and open access journal that deals with the fields of public health and public medicine. The topics of the article will be grouped according to the main message of the author. This focus covers areas and scope ...