OBJECTIVES: To identify the factors associated with the nutritional recovery of children enrolled in the Incentive Program to Combat Malnutrition (ICCN) in the city of Mogi das Cruzes. METHODS: An institutional trial without a concomitant control group was conducted with 570 children enrolled in the ICCN, who were observed from July 1999 to July 2001. The nutritional status was evaluated by weight/age scores, considering children with Z score > - 1 as well-nourished children; those with Z score > - 2 and < - 1 as children at risk; those with Z score < - 2 and > - 3 as moderately malnourished, and, finally, those with Z score < - 3 as severely malnourished. The impact of ICCN was analyzed in a multivariate model with the use of estimating equations (GEE - Generalized Estimating Equations) considering p<0.05 as significant. RESULTS/CONCLUSION: Children's nutritional improvement at the end of the segment shows that the higher the initial nutritional deficiency, the greater the recovery. There were gains in height of 1.12, 0.82, 0.57 and 0.45 standard deviations for severely malnourished, moderately malnourished, at risk for malnutrition, and well-nourished children, respectively. The factors that showed association with the nutritional evolution of malnourished children were 12 to 24 months of age when joining ICCN, birth-weight equal to or greater than 3 kg, and breast-feeding. Factors negatively associated to nutritional recovery were mother's age between 20 to 40 years old and absence of maternal work outside the home. For children at risk, family income was also associated to better nutritional evolution. The ICCN experience in Mogi das Cruzes city suggests that dietary supplementation programs have a relevant role in the nutritional recovery of malnourished individuals.
Supplementary feeding; Malnutrition and evaluation
