Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 March 2008
1. The nutritional status of children showing no clinical signs of malnutrition, from the University School of Khon Kaen, Khon Kaen province, north-east Thailand and from two villages nearby, was tested. The children were grouped according to their body-weight expressed as a percentage of expected weight-for-height (Harvard standards (Stuart & Stevenson, 1959), as given by Jelliffe (1966))..
2. The differing prealbumin concentrations indicated that nutritional status differed between the groups..
3. The urinary urea: creatinine ratio was significantly lower in the village children compared with the children from Khon Kaen, indicative of the higher dietary protein intake of the latter..
4. α1-Acid glycoprotein and the first ‘post-albumin peak’ (obtained by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of serum and containing mainly Gc-globulin, α1-antichymotrypsin and α1-B-glycoprotein) were found to be significantly higher in the village children compared with children from Khon Kaen..
5. The three main proteins of the first ‘post-albumin peak’ from polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of serum were tested separately using the electroimmunoassay method. There was no significant difference in Gc-globulin between the children from Khon Kaen and the village children. The concentration of α1-B-glycoprotein from those Khon Kaen children whose body-weight was more than 95% expected weight-for-height was significantly lower compared with that of village children. α1-Antichymotrypsin concentration was significantly higher in serum from Khon Kaen children than in serum from village children.