Being concurrently wasted and stunted (WaSt), even at moderate levels, is associated with considerable excess mortality in children comparable to that associated with severe wasting. Given this high level of mortality risk, the question has been raised as to whether these children should be included in therapeutic feeding services if they are not already reached, as well as how these children might be identified at the community level for treatment.

To explore these questions an analysis of data from a community-based cohort study in untreated children in Senegal was conducted with the Wasting and Stunting Technical Interest Group (WaSt TIG).