The NUTRITIONAL SITUATION OF CHILDREN UNDER FIVE YEARS OLD FOLLOWED BY PRIMARY CARE IN THE NORTHEAST REGION

• Autor(a) principal: Paiva, Valdemilson Vieira
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Poncio, Sabrina Nayara Andrade Bolivar, Lima , Carlos Alexandre Neves, Ferreira, Paulo Otavio da Silva, Silva, Vivian Elen da, Monteiro, Tercília Menezes, Neto, Etevaldo Carvalho de Araújo, Guedes, Quezia Valeria da Costa, Sousa, Alexandre Magno de, Silva Gradil Costa, Larissa
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Brazilian Journal of Implantology and Health Sciences
• Texto Completo: https://bjihs.emnuvens.com.br/bjihs/article/view/1078
• topic: Estado nutricional; Crianças; Obesidade; Desnutrição; Vigilância alimentar e nutricional; Nutritional status; Children; Obesity; Malnutrition; Food and Nutrition Surveillance

In recent decades, Brazil has experienced a significant transformation in society's eating habits, causing substantial impacts on nutritional status. This phenomenon corresponds to the transition from the predominant profile, characterized by malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies, to a scenario marked by a considerable prevalence of obesity and associated conditions. The objective of this study is to evaluate the nutritional status of children under 5 years of age living in the northeast region of Brazil in the year 2022. This is an ecological study, of a cross-sectional and descriptive nature, which made use of secondary information obtained through the SISVAN-Web. The reports were generated by grouping the states of the Northeast region, considering the variables: “child” stage of life, for both sexes; age “0 to < 5 years”. Data were analyzed using the following nutritional indices: a) weight-for-height; b) weight-for-age; c) age-for-height; and d) BMI-for-age. It was found that Ceará has the highest number of children with high weight for their age (n=11.47%), followed by Rio Grande do Norte (n=10.07%) and Pernambuco (n=9.93%) . Maranhão is the state with the highest prevalence of cases of very short height and low height, with 8.16 and 9.08%, respectively. Children with appropriate weight for their age represented 58% of the sample, while overweight in this population made up a total of 34% and those who were thin made up a total of 7%. Nutritional deficits remain present in the northeast region and still represent a problem of great relevance in public health. However, among nutritional problems, overweight and obesity are predominant among children under five years of age. Therefore, it is necessary to invest in studies and actions that aim to reduce and combat nutritional deficiencies, especially in the context of primary care.