physical growth, underweight or clinical marasmus, kwashiorkor, or marasmic kwashiorkor. The Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS) of 2010 shows that 5 percent of children under fives years old were wasted, 42 percent stunted and 16 percent were underweight. Stunting represents the long-term effects of malnutrition in a population and is not sensitive to recent, short term changes in dietary intake. According to the 2010 TDHS stunting appeared as the major nutrition deficiency. Furthermore, nutritional status of children for the period 2005 to 2010 shows a downward trend in stunting and underweight. Stunting declined only slightly (3 percentage points) between 2004-2005 and 2010 surveys. A similar pattern is observed for underweight, which dropped by 1 percentage point while the prevalence of wasting has increased slightly by 1 percentage point. Stunting reflects failure to receive adequate nutrition over a long period of time and is affected by recurrent and chronic illness. 146. Inadequate maternal nutrition poses a detrimental effect on the nutritional status of the child. This can be identified through measurement of individual body mass index (BMI). BMI is defined as weight in kilograms divided by height squared in meters (kg/m2) is used to measure thinness or obesity. A BMI below 18.5 indicates thinness or acute under nutrition and a BMI of 25.0 or above indicates overweight or obesity. A BMI that is below 16 kg/m2 indicates severe under nutrition and is associated with increased mortality. Low pre-pregnancy BMI is associated with poor birth outcomes and obstetric complications. According to TDHS 2010, 11 percent of women aged 15-49 years are thin (Body Mass Index –BMI- < 18.5 kg/m2) in the year 2010 as compared to 10 percent in the year 2004. In addition, the data show that the adolescents (age group 15-19 years) are most likely to be thin and rural women are more likely to be thin (13 percent) than urban women (8 percent). 160. Maternal height is a good indicator of women at nutritional risk. Short stature reflects inadequate nutrition during childhood and adolescence. In a woman, short stature is a risk factor for poor birth outcomes and obstetric complications. For example, short stature is associated with small pelvic size, which increases the likelihood of difficulty during delivery and the risk of bearing low birth weight babies. A woman is considered to be at risk if her height is below 145 cm. According to TDHS 2010 the percentage of women below the height of 145 centimetres remain the same (3 percent) as in the year 2004. 147. Nutrition in pregnant women is also reflected in the proportion of children born with low birth weight (below 2.5kg). LBW is a result of multiple conditions pregnant women are exposed during pregnancy. These include pre-pregnancy under-nutrition, some infections, adolescent motherhood, maternal anemia and use of drugs and alcohol. Babies born with low birth weight have an increased risk of prenatal and neonatal morbidity and mortality as well as other implications as regards to growth and development. 148. The current data available (TDHS 2010) show that the prevalence of Low Birth Weight (LBW) in Tanzania stands at 7 percent. (ix) Iron Deficiency Anaemia (IDA) 162. IDA is a common form of nutritional anaemia which results from inadequate dietary intake of nutrients necessary for synthesis of haemoglobin. Anaemia also results from sickle cell disease, malaria, or parasitic infections. Anaemia results not only into reduced physical and mental capacity but also contributes to maternal mortality, spontaneous abortions, premature births, and low birth weight. IDA is a major health problem among young children and pregnant women in Tanzania. According to the TDHS 2010 about 40 percent of women aged 15-49 years are anaemic with one percent of them being severely affected as compared to 57 percent in the year 2004-2005. Pregnant women are more likely to be anaemic compared to 39 percent of women who are neither pregnant nor breastfeeding. 149. Year 2010 TDHS shows that six in ten children in Tanzania are anaemic. The prevalence of mild anaemia among children is 27 percent whereas, 29 percent have moderate, and 2 percent have severe anaemia. In comparison to the 2004-05 TDHS, the prevalence of anaemia has dropped by 18 percent in the past five years, from 72 to 59 percent. The most noticeable drop has been in the prevalence of moderate anaemia by about 14 points (29 percent in 2010 compared with 43 percent in 2004-2005). Children age 9-11 months are the most affected by anaemia (81 percent) compared with the other children. Severe anaemia, which has a serious impact on the health of an individual, is also highest among children age 9-11 months (6 percent). Children in Mainland Tanzania are less likely to be anaemic than children in Zanzibar (58 and 69 percent, respectively). (x) Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) Iodine deficiencies has serious effects on body growth 41