Are there changes in the nutritional status of children of Oportunidades families in rural Chiapas, Mexico? A cohort prospective study

Abstract

BackgroundIn Mexico, despite that the fact that several social programs have been implemented, chronic undernutrition is still a public health problem affecting 1.5 million children of <5 years. Chiapas ranks first in underweight and stunting at national level with a stunting prevalence of 31.4 % whereas for its rural population is 44.2 %. The purpose of this paper is to determine if the nutritional status of a cohort of children living in poor rural communities under Oportunidades has changed. We were interested in assessing the nutrition evolution of the children who were initially diagnosed as stunted and of those who were diagnosed as normal. Oportunidades is an anti-poverty program of the Mexican government consisting mainly in monetary transfers to the families living in alimentary poverty.MethodsA 9-year cohort prospective study was conducted with nutritional evaluations of 222 children. Anthropometric indices were constructed from measurements of weight, height, and age of the children whose nutritional status was classified following WHO standards.ResultsThe results showed that although these children were Oportunidades beneficiaries for 9 years and their families improved their living conditions, children still had a high prevalence of stunting (40.1 %) and 69.6 % had not recovered yet. Children who were initially diagnosed with normal nutritional status and became stunted 2 years later had a higher risk (relative risk (RR) 5.69, 2.95–10.96) of continuing stunted at school age and adolescence.ConclusionsOportunidades has not impacted, as expected, the nutritional status of the study population. These findings pose the question: Why has not the nutritional status of children improved, although the living conditions of their families have significantly improved? This might be the result of an adaptation process achieved through a decrease of growth velocity. It is important to make efforts to watch the growth of the children during their first 3 years of age, to focus on improving the diet of women at fertile age and pay special attention to environmental conditions to break the vicious cycle of malnutrition.

Stunting and intestinal parasites in school children from high marginalized localities at the Mexican southeast

“…Another study conducted in the same region questioned the effectiveness of the aforementioned program as authors demonstrated 40.1% of stunting among 222 children under five years evaluated during 9 years (2002-2011). It was pointed out that even children presenting a normal diagnostic at the beginning of the program showed stunting after only two years [32]. We hypothesize that although children receive food supplements, they may not consume them in their diet, even though the food consumed in the home is of poor quality.…”

Evolución de los Programas de Ayuda Alimentaria en México a través de información de Ensanut MC 2016

“…No obstante, en un estudio de cohorte, 222 niños beneficiarios del programa Prospera (antes Oportunidades) fueron acompañados durante nueve años para conocer su estado nutricional. 25 Este estudio encontró que las familias mejoraron sus condiciones de vida; sin embargo, los niños presentaron retraso en el crecimiento (40.1%) y 70% no se había recuperado de su déficit inicialmente diagnosticado.…”

Evaluación Nutricional Y Sensorial De Un Alimento a Base De Atún Y Soya Enriquecido Con Vitaminas Y Minerales

“…En el mundo existe alrededor de dos billones de personas que tienen alguna deficiencia de micronutrientes por ejemplo, anemia causada por deficiencia de hierro (6,7). También se presenta un incremento en la tasa de infección y mortalidad causado por la deficiencia de vitamina A y zinc, que son amenazas para el desarrollo de los niños (6).…”

“…En un estudio de intervención de consumo de leche fortificada con niños se demostró la mejora en peso (diferencia de 0,21 Kg/año) y aumento en talla (diferencia de 0,51 cm/año) comparado con el grupo control (6,13). Los problemas de desnutrición específicamente baja talla (desmedro) en menores de cinco años afecta alrededor de 200 millones de niños en el mundo; en México, el problema afecta alrededor de 1,5 millones de niños de la misma edad (7). La malnutrición por deficiencia de micronutrientes (proteico-energética) continúa siendo la mayor carga de salud en países en desarrollo; globalmente es el único factor de riesgo para la enfermedad y muerte, con cientos de millones de mujeres embarazadas y niños jóvenes particularmente afectados.…”