The influence of economic deterioration in brazil on the nutritional status of children in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Weight and height data were obtained from the clinic records for children from 0 to 60 months of age from a free, public health‐post serving a favela (shanty town) community of 24,000 persons in Rio de Janeiro. Attendance during the first year of life was over 90%, but it fell to around 50% for the second year, and progressively toward a 30% annual consultation rate thereafter. In the first two years, over two thirds of children had their anthropometric indices duly recorded. This frequency also declined with age. The trend in prevalence of malnutrition in the clinic‐users from 0 to 24 months was examined, using weight‐for‐age (Gomez), height‐for‐age and weight‐for‐height (Waterlow) as indicators. Deficits were found in up to 6% of the population. A severe economic deterioration affecting employment, family income and purchasing power accompanied by inflation occurred in the years following 1978, but no increase in anthropometric deficits was observed in the four years 1980 through 1983. Persistence of breast‐feeding increased slightly during this period. The reasons for the lack of response of nutritional status of under‐two‐year‐olds and the utility of using clinic record anthropometric data for nutritional surveillance are discussed.

Key words:

• growth
• anthropometries
• height
• weight
• protein‐energy malnutrition
• economy
• nutritional surveillance