Análise do estado nutricional de escolares matriculados na rede pública de ensino de um município do semiárido paraibano segundo situação de vulnerabilidade social.

Abstract

Developing countries are facing an epidemiological transition period defined by a change in the patterns of problems related to public health, with the prevalence of noncommunicable chronic diseases. The prevalence of obesity, micronutrient deficiencies, malnutrition and others chronic diseases coexisting in the same communities and, in several times in the same residence between different age groups, define the growing process of nutritional and feeding habits transition of population. The aim of this study was to analyse the nutritional state of children enrolled in municipal schools from the city of Cuité, State of Paraiba, Brazil. They were analysed by their social vulnerability status. In this way, It was conducted in 2013, a transversal study from the type of Brazilian censo, in which was performed a quick estimate population- The Nutritional Call. The sample was composed by 629 children with ages ranging from 0 and 9 years old enrolled in the network of municipal schools from the city of Cuité. It was collected information related with social and environmental characteristics of the families and responsibles for the children, with the collection of anthropometric measures and conduction of nutritional semiotics. In order to determine nutritional status, it was utilized the percentiles of weight-for-age (W/A) and height-for-age (H/A) from the World Health Organisation (WHO) Child Growth Standards besides the evaluation of physical characteristics from the children for indication of specifics nutritional deficiencies. In order for the schoolchildren to participate of the research, their responsibles signed a term of consent. The prevalence of overweight children, according with W/A ratio, overcame underweight children between both of economic groups analysed, corresponding to 19,1% and 21,1% from children inserted in families under and above the poverty line,respectively, in the sum of 19,8% of the samples. It was possible to verify the presence of 3 to 5 signals of clinical alterations related with nutritional deficiencies in children who live in families above (20,4%) and below (22,4%) of poverty. However, in comparison of risk groups of low and high W/A, it was verified that children who show from 3 to 5 deficiency signs and are included in families below the poverty line present higher weight deficit percentage (19,5%) than overweight (15,6%). For children from families above the poverty line with the same clinical alterations, the prevalence of overweight (20%) proved significantly higher than underweight (8,9%), proving that the presence of signs of nutritional deficiencies also is present in children with opposite weight characteristics. In this regard, it can be noticed the presence of a double burden of diseases derived from eating habits : The overweight and the deficiency of specific nutrients, typical characteristics from the contemporary process of the Brazilian nutritional transition. This evidence is of significant relevance and constitutes a strong argument for the prevention of obesity in population who have faced dramatic changes in the nutritional environment. In this way, it must be highlighted that the conduction of research similar to this one presents major relevance to the elaboration of efficient public policies, once that they subsidize with the knowledge about the dimension of nutritional problems.