This document discusses various methods for assessing nutritional status, including direct and indirect methods. Direct methods include anthropometric measurements like height, weight, skin folds; clinical examination of signs of deficiency; and dietary assessments like 24-hour recalls and food frequency questionnaires. Anthropometry is useful for evaluating undernutrition and overnutrition by comparing measurements to reference standards. Clinical examination identifies individuals at nutritional risk by checking for physical signs associated with deficiencies. Dietary assessments provide information on nutrient intake. Indirect methods consider community-level factors like food production and health statistics. Laboratory tests can detect early nutritional changes and validate other assessment methods.