The nutritional status of under-five children and the association between social conditions and child stature were examined using data from the program to control malnutrition and mortality in the Guarita Indigenous Territory, southern Brazil, 2001-2002. Anthropometric indices were calculated in z-scores of the CDC 2000 reference. At entrance into the program, 34.7% of the children presented stunting, 12.9% low weight for age, 4.2% wasting, and 8.7% overweight. Stunting was most prevalent among boys and children older than one year. Multivariate linear regression showed that, on average, children were shorter when the drinking water was collected directly in the environment (p = 0.046), there was no refrigerator for food preservation (p = 0.021), maternal age was less than 16 years at the birth of the oldest child among the under-fives (p = 0.019), and the mother was illiterate (p = 0.083). Sewage facilities only had an effect on the unadjusted model. There was no evidence that the number of under-five children had an effect on stature. Social inclusion policies and health and social provision which takes these factors into account are potentially relevant for improving health and nutrition in this population.
Nutritional Status; Social Inequity; South American Indians; Child
