Ecologic Study of Nutritional Status of Ecuadorean Children

Abstract

The nutritional status of children is the product of many ecologic factors, including social, cultural, economic, educational, and emotional, as well as the biologic determinants. A descriptive study has been conducted to evaluate the relative importance of these variables to the nutritional status of rural and urban Ecuadorean children. Two hundred twenty-four families were evaluated. One hundred ninety-four of the families studied constitute the present investigation. Significant differences were observed between urban and rural populations in terms of maternal age and maternal education. The average ingestion of animal proteins is much lower in the rural populations. Nutritional status is inferior in the rural children. Multiple regression equations revealed a strong correlation between the nutritional status of the children and the ingestion of animal proteins. However, in specific population groups, a relationship was also evident between vegetable protein and nutritional status. Sociocultural environmental variables were significantly correlated with nutritional status; however, these variables differed in ranks of importance among the various rural and urban population groups. It can be concluded that the nutritional status of the rural children is substantially less than that of the urban study group. The ecologic factors vary in relative importance among these study groups and appear to be specific in their impact on the nutritional status.