ABSTRACT
SUMMARYThe nutritional status of vitamim A was studied in 240 children of both sexes between the ages of three and seven years who lived in a poor residential area of Manaus (Amazonas), Brazil. Biochemical analyses of serum retinol and -carotene were carried out and the dietary intake was determined by means of questionnaires. Thirty - six percent and 65% of the children had serum retinol an -caroten levels, respectively, below the normal levels, which, according to the ICNND criteria, suggests a public heath problem. The man dietaru a intake dietary vitamin A intake was only 62,6% of the US Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA).
RESUMOO estado nutricional relacionado ã vitamina A foi estudado em 240 crianças de ambos os sexos com idade entre 3 a 7 anos incompletos, residentes em um bairro pobre de Manaus-AM. Foram realizadas dosagens bioquímicas de retinol e -caroteno no soro e inquérito alimentar. Constatou-se níveis séricos de retinol e -caroteno abaixo do normal em 36% e 61% respectivamente, os quais, pelos critérios do Interdepartmental Committee on Nutrition for National Defense (ICNND), sugerem problema de Saúde Pública. Quanto adequação de consumo de vitamina "A" foi de apenas 62,6%, segundo as recomendações da National Academy of Sciences (RDA-Dose Recomendada Diária).