Short children with a low midupper arm circumference respond to food supplementation: an observational study from Burkina Faso.

We found no evidence of a difference in percentage of weight gain or weight-gain velocity during supplementary feeding in short or long children aged 6-23 mo. We recommend a policy change to include children <67 cm in supplementary feeding programs if their MUAC is between 115 and 124 mm and their WHZ is ≥-2. This could benefit millions of children currently excluded from supplementary feeding. This trial was registered at www.controlled-trials.com as ISRCTN42569496.