Category: W
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Wafer
A thin cake or cracker. In the Germanic language that English partly developed from, there existed a word pronounced something like wab. This word meant honeycomb, the patterned structure formed by bees to store honey, and it gave rise in English to words associated with other kinds of patterned structures: web and weave. These words…
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World food programme (WFP)
Part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; intended to give international aid in the form of food from countries with a surplus; website http://www.wfp.org.
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Wholefoods
Foods that have been minimally refined or processed, and are eaten in their natural state. In general nothing is removed from, or added to, the foodstuffs in preparation. Wholegrain cereal products are made by milling the complete grain.
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Wellcome classification
A system for classifying protein energy malnutrition in children based on percentage of expected weight for age and the presence or absence of oedema. Between 60 and 80% of expected weight is underweight in the absence of oedema, and kwashiorkor if oedema is present; under 60% of expected weight is marasmus in the absence of…
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Weaning foods
Foods specially formulated for infants aged between 3 and 9 months for the transition between breast- or bottle-feeding and normal intake of solid foods. One designed to provide all the nutrients required by a child as it moves over from breast milk to other foods, say from the age of six months.
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Waterlow classification
A system for classifying protein energy malnutrition in children based on wasting (the percentage of expected weight for height) and the degree of stunting (the percentage of expected height for age).
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Water activity (Aw)
The ratio of the vapour pressure of water in a food to the saturated vapour pressure of water at the same temperature. A measure of the free moisture in a product. It is determined by dividing water vapor pressure of the substance by the vapor pressure of pure water at the same temperature. A measure…
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Wasting/wasted
An old term meaning abnormally thin after weight loss. The term has been used more recently by nutritionists to define weight for height significantly less than the reference range. A condition in which a person or a limb loses weight and becomes thin.
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Waist hip ratio
Simple method for describing the distribution of subcutaneous and intra-abdominal adipose tissue. A tool used to assess fat distribution and health risk. Waist-to-hip ratio is calculated by measuring waist and hip circumferences and then dividing the waist measurement by the hip measurement. The waist-to-hip ratio indicates whether a person carries more weight around the abdomen…
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Wraparound services
A network of community services and natural supports individualized to the needs of the child and family.