Food intake and nutritional status of preschool from maroon communities of the state Alagoas, Brazil

Fernanda Maria De B Leite,Myrtis Katille De A Bezerra,Bernardo Lessa Horta,Monica Lopes De Assunção,Haroldo Da Silva Ferreira

doi:10.1590/s0103-05822013000400005

Fernanda Maria De B Leite, Myrtis Katille De A Bezerra + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s0103-05822013000400005

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the dietary intake and the nutritional status of children from Alagoas maroon communities. METHODS: Cross-sectional study involving 724 children (12-60 months) from 39 Alagoas maroon communities. The nutritional status was investigated by anthropometric, biochemical (hemoglobin) and food consumption indicators. RESULTS: The prevalence of anemia, stunting and obesity were, respectively, 48.0, 9.7 and 6.0%. The children had a monotonous eating pattern and a considerable prevalence of inadequate intake of zinc (17.0%), folate (18.1%), iron (20.2%) and vitamins A (29.7%) and C (34.3%). Compared to the other socioeconomic classes, the E class children had lower average consumption (p<0.05) for energy, carbohydrate, vitamins A and C, folate, iron, zinc and phosphorus. CONCLUSIONS: Anemia is a serious Public Health problem. The prevalence of chronic malnutrition and obesity were similar to those observed for the children in the State as a whole, where a nutritional transition process is occuring. There was a high prevalence of inadequate food intake risk for zinc, folate, iron and vitamins A and C, suggesting the need for nutritional education actions.

Highlights

Brazil’s Maroon communities have a long history of social exclusion, food insecurity and precarious living conditions, all of which have a direct influence on the health-disease process and, on the life expectancies of their inhabitants[1].A census of Brazilian Maroon communities, the Chamada Quilombola[2], showed that 90.9% of the families in these communities belong to economic classes D or E, which is a considerably larger proportion than is estimated for populations in Brazil’s urban areas (34.3%)(3)
The majority of families (76.4%) were beneficiaries of government welfare programs, with 98.7% registered on the low-income family support program, the Programa Bolsa Familiar (PBF)
The families studied here are living in highly precarious socioeconomic conditions, given that more than 90% were classified into economic classes D or E, which is similar to results reported by the Chamada Quilombola survey of Maroon communities (90.9%)(2)

Summary

Introduction

Brazil’s Maroon communities have a long history of social exclusion, food insecurity and precarious living conditions, all of which have a direct influence on the health-disease process and, on the life expectancies of their inhabitants[1].A census of Brazilian Maroon communities, the Chamada Quilombola[2], showed that 90.9% of the families in these communities belong to economic classes D or E, which is a considerably larger proportion than is estimated for populations in Brazil’s urban areas (34.3%)(3). The census found that 43.6% of the mothers of preschool children had spent fewer than 5 years in education[2], which is considerably higher than the same figure for Brazilian women aged 25 to 30 (16.9%)(2). In a situation such as this, the plight of children is especially worrying, considering their greater biological vulnerability, in particular their greater susceptibility to nutritional disorders caused by inadequate access to nutrition[4]. Dietary surveys are of great value for identifying indicators that can be used to delineate and evaluate the magnitude of dietary deficiencies[5]

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