Wasting Prevalence Calculator

Work out wasting prevalence instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Wasting Prevalence Calculator

Divides children with weight-for-height below minus two standard deviations by those surveyed and applies the WHO wasting thresholds.

Formula

Wasting prevalence

Prevalence (%) = children with weight-for-height z-score below -2 / children surveyed x 100. WHO bands: very low <2.5%, low 2.5-4.9%, medium 5-9.9%, high 10-14.9%, very high >=15%

Worked example

With the default values below, Wasting Prevalence Calculator returns Wasting prevalence of 7.000%. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Children with weight-for-height below -2 SDaccepts 0–1,000,000: 70
Children surveyedaccepts 1–10,000,000: 1,000

Results

Wasting prevalence: 7.000%
WHO public health significance: Medium
Emergency threshold: Below the 15% emergency threshold
Wasted children per 1,000 surveyed: 70.0

Step by step

1Values used
2Wasting prevalence
3Wasting prevalence= 7.000
4WHO public health significance= Medium
5Emergency threshold= Below the 15% emergency threshold
6Wasted children per 1,000 surveyed= 70.0

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 2 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does wasting differ from stunting?

Wasting reflects acute weight loss and responds to treatment within weeks; stunting reflects chronic deprivation.

What is severe wasting?

Weight-for-height below minus three standard deviations, or mid-upper arm circumference under 115 mm.