Incipient Neighborhood and Socioeconomic Stratification Associated to Nutritional Status in Indigenous Qom Preschoolers from Formosa, Argentina

ABSTRACT

Indigenous populations in Latin America are among the most socially vulnerable groups and their children often suffer severe deprivation in terms of access to proper nutrition, water, and shelter. This study describes the nutritional status of Qom preschoolers in general, and by neighborhood area and family’s socioeconomic characteristics in a peri-urban village of Formosa, Argentina. Across-sectional study was carried out between January and December 2016, with 160 Qom children between 2 and 5 years of age. Interviews and anthropometric measures were conducted at the children’s homes. Nutritional status was determined by body mass index. The prevalence of excess weight (overweight + obesity) and of stunting were associated with neighborhood area and socioeconomic level. The overall prevalence of stunting was 15.6% and it was found to be higher (25.8%) in areas of relatively lower access to material resources. The overall prevalence of excess weight reached 25%; however, neighborhood areas with greater access to material resources had a significantly higher prevalence of children with excess weight (41.2%). Despite the entire community living under the line of poverty, we found differences in nutritional status by neighborhood areas, suggesting an incipient social stratification and a deepening of inequalities in access to resources.

KEYWORDS:

• Indigenous preschoolers
• nutritional status
• neighborhood effects
• Argentina

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Qom families that participated in this study for their kindness and patience. Ms. Lisandra Mansilla her expert local knowledge of the community and Lic. Celeste Almirón assisted with data collection. We are indebted to both. We also thank Centro de Salud Namqom and Fundación ECO for their support. This study was partially funded by an NSF grant (BCS-0952264) to C. Valeggia.

Notes

1. CARE, the Chaco Area Reproductive Ecology Program, was established in 1997 and focuses on research and education in female reproduction, child health and development, and indigenous health in general. The database from where the potential participant name was drawn was a village-wide census conducted as a follow up of an ongoing biodemographic study. Census data is unpublished.