Dietetic and anthropometric differences between children from the center and surrounding villages of a rural region of Costa Rica

Abstract

Dietary and anthropometric surveys of children were conducted as part of a nutritional evaluation of the central (urban) and peripheral (rural) areas of San Ramón, a town located in the central plateau of Costa Rica. The findings showed marked differences between the center and the peripheral villages in the intake of selected nutrients, height and weight of children. The data show a primary energy deficiency in children from the peripheral villages. Anthropometric data suggested that there were nutrition problems in the villages, but in the center of the town, 87 percent of the sample, had an adequate height‐for‐age relationship. The lowering of morbidity, its effect on nutritional status, and the role of public health programs in nutritional planning are discussed.

This information confirms the problem of maldistribution of scarce national resources at the rural level. This is due to the fact that government services promoting rural development are located in the center of rural populations with limited projection to those that need it most: the semi‐isolated and isolated rural population.