Deep Learning Based MobileNet Optimization For High Accuracy Classification Of Toddler Stunting

Authors

  • Anan Wibowo Informatics, STIKOM Tunas Bangsa Pematangsiantar, Indonesia
  • Rahmat Widia Sembiring Informatics, Politeknik Negeri Medan, Indonesia
  • Solikhun Informatics, STIKOM Tunas Bangsa Pematangsiantar, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52436/1.jutif.2026.7.2.5382

Keywords:

Deep Learning, Image Classification, MobileNet, Stunting

Abstract

This study aims to develop and optimize a MobileNet-based deep learning model for toddler stunting classification using whole-body images. A progressive optimization strategy was applied through three scenarios: (1) a baseline MobileNet feature-extraction model, (2) an optimized fine-tuned model, and (3) a final model enhanced with an adaptive ReduceLROnPlateau scheduler. Using a private dataset of 571 images, the proposed model achieved significant improvements—from 97.47% accuracy in the baseline model to a perfect 100% accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score in the final scenario. These results highlight the novelty of this study, namely the use of whole-body images combined with progressive MobileNet optimization, which substantially outperforms prior studies relying solely on facial image analysis. The proposed approach demonstrates strong potential as a highly accurate and efficient computational tool for clinical stunting screening.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

M. Ekholuenetale, A. Barrow, C. E. Ekholuenetale, and G. Tudeme, “Impact of stunting on early childhood cognitive development in Benin: evidence from Demographic and Health Survey,” Egyptian Pediatric Association Gazette, vol. 68, no. 1, 2020.

S. E. Firdaus and P. D. Maulana, “Acceleration of Stunting Reduction: Advancing Social and Environmental Well-being through Policy, Education, and Environmental Management,” Journal of Sustainability, Society, and Eco-Welfare, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 141–158, 2025.

D. A. Prihanggara and L. S. Handini, “EFFECTIVENESS OF INTEGRATED GROWTH MONITORING AND NUTRITIONAL SURVEILLANCE FOR EARLY DETECTION AND PREVENTION OF MALNUTRITION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD,” Journal of Diverse Medical Research, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 1–14, 2025.

W. Richard, P. Thangata, B. Mkandawire, and N. Amoah, “Advancing predictive analytics in child malnutrition: Machine, ensemble and deep learning models with balanced class distribution for early detection of stunting and wasting,” Human Nutrition & Metabolism, vol. 42, no. August, p. 200340, 2025.

E. Mocini et al., “Digital Anthropometry: A Systematic Review on Precision, Reliability and Accuracy of Most Popular Existing Technologies,” Nutrients, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 1–39, 2023.

S. Mehta et al., “Advances in artificial intelligence and precision nutrition approaches to improve maternal and child health in low resource settings,” Nature Communications, vol. 16, no. 7673, pp. 1–9, 2025.

R. Archana and P. S. E. Jeevaraj, Deep learning models for digital image processing: a review, vol. 57, no. 1. Springer Netherlands, 2024.

X. Jiang, Z. Hu, S. Wang, and Y. Zhang, “Deep Learning for Medical Image-Based Cancer Diagnosis,” Cancers, vol. 15, no. 14, 2023.

H. I. Liu et al., “Lightweight Deep Learning for Resource-Constrained Environments: A Survey,” ArXiv, vol. 56, no. 10, pp. 1–40, 2024.

M. M. H. Shuvo, S. K. Islam, J. Cheng, and B. I. Morshed, “Efficient Acceleration of Deep Learning Inference on Resource-Constrained Edge Devices: A Review,” Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 111, no. 1, pp. 42–91, 2023.

A. Younesi, M. Ansari, M. Fazli, A. Ejlali, M. Shafique, and J. Henkel, “A Comprehensive Survey of Convolutions in Deep Learning: Applications, Challenges, and Future Trends,” IEEE Access, vol. 12, no. March, pp. 41180–41218, 2024.

O. N. Mohammed, “Enhancing Pulmonary Disease Classification in Diseases: A Comparative Study of CNN and Optimized MobileNet Architectures,” Journal of Robotics and Control (JRC), vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 427–440, 2024.

M. A. Saleem et al., “Enhancing stroke risk prediction through class balancing and data augmentation with CBDA-ResNet50,” Scientific Reports, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 1–19, 2025.

U. Kumar Lilhore et al., “A precise model for skin cancer diagnosis using hybrid U-Net and improved MobileNet-V3 with hyperparameters optimization,” Scientific Reports, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 1–24, 2024.

T. R. Mahesh et al., “Transformative Breast Cancer Diagnosis using CNNs with Optimized ReduceLROnPlateau and Early Stopping Enhancements,” International Journal of Computational Intelligence Systems, vol. 17, no. 1, 2024.

M. A. Abdou, “Literature review: efficient deep neural networks techniques for medical image analysis,” Neural Computing and Applications, vol. 34, no. 8, pp. 5791–5812, 2022.

A. W. Salehi, S. Khan, G. Gupta, B. I. Alabduallah, and A. Almjally, “A Study of CNN and Transfer Learning in Medical Imaging: Advantages, Challenges, Future Scope,” Sustainability, vol. 15, no. 5930, pp. 1–28, 2023.

J. Zhan, “MobileNet Compression and Edge Computing Strategy for Low- Latency Monitoring,” Journal of computer science and software applications, vol. 4, no. 4, 2024.

S. Aanjankumar et al., “Prediction of malnutrition in kids by integrating ResNet-50-based deep learning technique using facial images,” Scientific Reports, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 1–26, 2025.

C. Dhanamjayulu et al., “Identification of malnutrition and prediction of BMI from facial images using real-time image processing and machine learning,” IET Image Processing, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 647–658, 2022.

Y. Yunidar, R. Roslidar, M. Oktiana, Y. Yusni, N. Nasaruddin, and F. Arnia, “Classification of Stunted and Normal Children Using Novel Facial Image Database and Convolutional Neural Network,” Radioelectronic and Computer Systems, vol. 2024, no. 1(109), pp. 76–86, 2024.

M. A. Elaziz, A. Dahou, N. A. Alsaleh, A. H. Elsheikh, A. I. Saba, and M. Ahmadein, “Boosting COVID-19 Image Classification Using MobileNetV3 and Aquila Optimizer Algorithm,” entropy, vol. 23, no. 1383, pp. 1–17, 2021.

M. Hassam et al., “A Single Stream Modified MobileNet V2 and Whale Controlled Entropy Based Optimization Framework for Citrus Fruit Diseases Recognition,” IEEE Access, vol. 10, no. July, pp. 91828–91839, 2022.

J. Wang, C. He, and Z. Long, “Establishing a machine learning model for predicting nutritional risk through facial feature recognition,” frontiers, no. September, pp. 1–9, 2023.

C. Scheffler, B. Bogin, and M. Hermanussen, “Catch-up growth is a better indicator of undernutrition than thresholds for stunting,” Public Health Nutrition, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 52–61, 2021.

H. Rakotomanana and G. Rouhafzay, “A Scoping Review of AI-Based Approaches for Detecting Autism Traits Using Voice and Behavioral Data,” bioengineering, vol. 50, no. 1136, pp. 1–39, 2025.

I. Temilola Ayorinde and O. Ayodeji Oyedeji, “Comparative Study of Traditional Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) And MobileNet Architecture for Weather Detection,” International Journal of Scientific Research and Engineering Development, vol. 7, no. October, 2024.

R. O. Ogundokun, J. B. Awotunde, H. B. Akande, C. C. Lee, and A. L. Imoize, “Deep Transfer Learning Models for Mobile-Based Ocular Disorder Identification on Retinal Images,” Computers, Materials and Continua, vol. 80, no. 1, pp. 139–161, 2024.

H. Pan, Z. Pang, Y. Wang, Y. Wang, and L. Chen, “A New Image Recognition and Classification Method Combining Transfer Learning Algorithm and MobileNet Model for Welding Defects,” IEEE Access, vol. 8, pp. 119951–119960, 2020.

R. O. Ogundokun, S. Misra, A. O. Akinrotimi, and H. Ogul, “MobileNet-SVM: A Lightweight Deep Transfer Learning Model to Diagnose BCH Scans for IoMT-Based Imaging Sensors,” Sensors, vol. 23, no. 2, 2023.

J. C. Obi, “A Comparative Study of Several Classification Metrics and Their Performances on Data,” World Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology and Sciences, vol. 08, no. 01, pp. 308–314, 2023.

M. Carrington et al., “Deep ROC Analysis and AUC as Balanced Average Accuracy , for Improved Classifier Selection , Audit and Explanation,” IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 329–341, 2023.

R. Ghorbani and R. Ghousi, “Comparing Different Resampling Methods in Predicting Students ’ Performance Using Machine Learning Techniques,” IEEE Access, vol. 8, pp. 67899–67911, 2020.

R. Bold, H. Al-khateeb, and N. Ersotelos, “Reducing False Negatives in Ransomware Detection : A Critical Evaluation of Machine Learning Algorithms,” Applied Sciences, vol. 12, no. December, p. 22, 2022.

M. Altalhan, A. Algarni, and M. T. Alouane, “Imbalanced Data Problem in Machine Learning : A Review,” IEEE Access, vol. 13, no. January, pp. 13686–13699, 2025.

Additional Files

Published

2026-04-15

How to Cite

[1]
A. . Wibowo, R. W. . Sembiring, and S. Solikhun, “Deep Learning Based MobileNet Optimization For High Accuracy Classification Of Toddler Stunting ”, J. Tek. Inform. (JUTIF), vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 948–960, Apr. 2026.