Nutrition status in adult Chilean population: economic, ethnic and sex inequalities in a post-transitional country

Abstract

Objective: To assess the relationship between malnutrition, socioeconomic status (SES) and ethnicity in Chilean adult population. Design: Nationally representative survey (ENS) conducted in 2016–2017. Sociodemographic information, weight, height and hemoglobin (Hb) were measured (2003 ENS). Excess weight was defined as BMI ≥25 kg/m2. Undernutrition included underweight (BMI <18·5 kg/m2), short stature (height <1·49 m in women and <1·62 m in men) or anaemia (Hb <12 g/l). Education and household income level were used as indicators of SES; ethnicity was self-reported. We applied linear combinations of estimators to compare the prevalence of excess weight and undernutrition by SES and ethnicity. Setting: Chile. Participants: In total, 5082 adults ≥20 years (64 % women) and 1739 women ≥20 years for anaemia analyses. Results: Overall, >75 % of women and men had excess weight. Low SES women either by income or education had higher excess weight ((82·0 (77·1, 86·1) v. 65·0 (54·8, 74·1)) by income; (85·3 (80·6, 89·0) v. 68·2 (61·6, 74·1) %) by education) and short stature (20–49 years; 31(17·9, 48·2) v. 5·2 (2·2,11·4) by education); obesity was also more frequent among indigenous women (20–49 years; 55·8 (44·4, 66·6) v. 37·2 (32·7, 42·0) %) than non-indigenous women. In men, excess weight did not significantly differ by SES or ethnicity, but short stature concentrated in low SES (20–49 years; 47·6 (24·6, 71·6) v. 4·5 (2·1, 9·5) by education) and indigenous men (21·5 (11·9, 5·5, 11·9) v. 8·2 (5·5, 11·9)) (P < 0·05 for all). Conclusions: In Chile, malnutrition is disproportionately concentrated among women of low SES and indigenous origin; these inequalities should be considered when implementing prevention policies.

Overuse of Non-caloric Sweeteners in Foods and Beverages in Chile: A Threat to Consumers' Free Choice?

“…Chile ranks second in the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) list of countries with higher obesity rates, with a prevalence of 13.1% in 6-7 years school children and 30.5 and 38.8% in adult men and women (from 20 to 49 years), respectively (1,2). This is an important finding considering that high body mass index and diet-associated risk factors are currently considered as the leading cause of premature death and disability in the world, including in children (3)(4)(5).…”

Comparison of Anthropometric Indicators That Assess Nutritional Status From Infancy to Old Age and Proposal of Percentiles for a Regional Sample of Chile

“…These could be involved in the differences observed. Although it is not ruled out that, during the last decades, Chile has faced an extremely rapid nutritional transition (36), which is congruent with the rapid economic growth observed between 1980 and 2014 (37), it is currently characterized as a post-transitional country, where the nutritional status of the population varies significantly according to sex, socioeconomic level and ethnicity (38).…”

Growth and development of children under 5 years of age with tetralogy of Fallot in a Chinese population

“…It is reported that not only diseases, but also multiple factors, such as ethnicity, socioeconomic, even the education level of parents and the feeding behavior can effect growth and development status of children [21][22][23][24] . Thus, the cause and intervention for growth retardation may varied among different countries.…”