Political and administrative distribution of nutritional status in panama according to the height census of first grade school children

Height is the most suitable anthropometric measurement reflecting the effects of social and economic factors in the health and nutritional conditions of communities. It can be used to identify the minimum level of desaggregation of political‐administrative areas exhibiting the highest prevalence of malnutrition. A national census of height of 58,000 first grade school children located in 3,000 schools was conducted in the Republic of Panama which is divided into four provinces, 65 districts, an Indian community and 505 counties. The results showed marked differences in height retardation among provinces, among districts and among counties. In the latter political administrative unit, the range of prevalence of height retardation in first graders varied from 0 to 95 %. Marked differences were observed within a given district in budget retardation as is the case in the Nata District (4 to 40 %). The national census of first grade school children's height has provided an opportunity to identify and quantify the existing nutritional problems in 28 priority districts and 204 priority counties. It is expected that more resources from the public sector will be assigned to these areas as these are necessary to substantially reduce the food, nutrition and poverty problems affecting given segments of the population of Panama.

Key words:

• Anthropometry
• height
• census
• school children
• nutritional surveillance
• Panama