ABSTRACT
Anemia and undernutrition are common all over the world, especially in less developed countries. The relationship between low weight, short stature and iron deficiency should be better understood so that appropriate measures might be taken to prevent these problems. A total of 115 institutionalized children aged 12 to 72 months were studied in day-care institutions in the town of Pontal, Southeastern Brazil, during the second semester of 1999. Personal data, weight, height and hematological profile were obtained from all subjects. Food intake was evaluated in 20 children by a direct food-weighing method. The prevalence of low weight for age (2.6), low weight for height (1.7) and low height for age (4.3) was considered low. Anemia was observed in 68.7 of the children. Diet was found to be adequate in terms of the major nutrients evaluated, but food iron supply was of low bioavailability. In conclusion, the population studied revealed a peculiar behavior i.e., the coexistence of fairly good anthropometric nutritional status along with iron-deficiency anemia. The prevention of this kind of malnutrition cannot be limited to an adequate calorie/protein supply but should also be based on the correction of the severe iron deficiency present in this low socioeconomic level preschool children in Brazil.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Infant , Child, Preschool , Child , Anemia, Iron-Deficiency , Body Height , Body Weight , Nutritional Status , Social Class , Anemia, Iron-Deficiency , Brazil , Diet , Erythrocyte Indices , Hemoglobins , IronABSTRACT
The growth of two groups of infants were evaluated, one of them exclusively breast-fed (105 infants) and the other exclusively bottle-fed (61 infants), and compared with one another and with international standards (NCHS). All infants were evaluated by anthropometry at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 months of age. A fourth order polynomial was adopted for each infant and for each anthropometric measurement in order to estimate individual growth, and the 5th, 50th and 95th percentiles for weight and length were obtained. For the age of 6 months, the weights of breast-fed boys and girls were always statistically equal to or higher than those of infants fed cow's milk or those of NCHS standards. Breast-fed boys presented significantly longer length than bottle-fed boys but shorter than NCHS standards, and breast-fed girls presented significantly shorter length than both bottle-fed girls and than NCHS standards. The greater weight of exclusively breast-fed infants when compared to NCHS standards at six months of age, which differentiates the present study from several other ones carried out in developing countries, was probably due to the association of the beneficial effects of breast-feeding with those of pediatric follow-up.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Breast Feeding , Growth , Body Height , Body Weight , Bottle Feeding , Brazil , Cohort Studies , Follow-Up Studies , Poverty , Socioeconomic Factors , Urban PopulationABSTRACT
A desnutriçäo protéico-calórica da criança é uma doença de origem multifatorial e trabalhos realizados em outros países mostram que a baixa escolaridade dos pais é um dos fatores possivelmente implicados na sua gênese e perpetuaçäo. O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar a influência da escolaridade dos pais sobre o estado nutricional dos filhos. Em um corte transversal, foram estudadas 841 crianças com idades entre dez dias e cinco anos, em um bairro da periferia de Ribeiräo Preto, Säo Paulo, Brasil, realizando-se a avaliaçäo do estado nutricional pelo método de Gomez e avaliando-se o grau de escolaridade dos pais. Para a análise estatística se utilizou o método de quiquadrado com alfa de 5 porcento. Tanto a baixa escolaridade do pai como da mäe se relacionaram à subnutriçäo do filho. Com base nessa resultado, procura-se discutir a importância das medidas de promoçäo social para prevenir a desnutriçäo infantil
Subject(s)
Humans , Infant, Newborn , Infant , Child, Preschool , Male , Female , Parents , Educational Status , Nutrition Assessment , Protein-Energy Malnutrition/etiology , Protein-Energy Malnutrition/prevention & control , Data Interpretation, Statistical , Socioeconomic FactorsABSTRACT
O trabalho visou avaliar a prevalencia do tabagismo passivo entre as criancas de zero a seis meses de idade que frequentaram o Programa de Puericultura do CSE D. Pedro I no periodo entre 01 de julho de 1997 e 31 de dezembro de 1997. Foi realizado um levantamento retrospectivo das...
Subject(s)
Humans , Infant , Tobacco Smoke Pollution/adverse effects , Smoking/adverse effects , Breast Feeding , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
Foram estudadas 447 crianças com idades entre zero e cinco anos de uma Unidade Básica de Saúde de Ribeiräo Preto com o objetivo de se determinar a prevalência da desnutriçäo nessa populaçäo por meio de diferentes métodos de avaliaçäo do estado nutricional. Para isso, foram obtidas as medidas antropométricas peso, estatura, perímetro braquial e perímetro craniano, bem como os dados pessoais de cada criança, analisando-se posteriormente o seu estado nutricional pelos métodos de Gomez, Waterlow, Kanawati & McLaren e Shakir. As prevalências foram diferentes de acordo com o método utilizado, variando entre 9,17 por cento e 38,48 por cento, tendo-se observado, em todos os métodos, o predomínio de formas leves de desnutriçäo.