Estado nutricional de crianças de 0 a 7 anos beneficiárias do Programa Bolsa Família no município de Currais Novos-RN

Abstract

Introduction: Child health care is a preferred field in the context of health care for populations due to the fragility of human beings at this stage of life. Meanwhile, in Brazil, over the last 30 years, there has been an attenuation of malnutrition indicators and an increase in excess weight in the Brazilian population. Therefore, monitoring children's nutritional status is a relevant action to reduce morbidity and mortality and promote children's health. Objective: To assess the nutritional status of children aged between 0 and 7 years old, enrolled in the Bolsa Família Program and monitored for health conditionalities, in the municipality of Currais Novos/RN, during the years 2010 to 2019. Methodology: Data were collected from the SISVAN Web health information system. For the classification of the children's nutritional status, the anthropometric indicators weight/age, weight/height, BMI/age, height/age were analyzed, according to the child growth curves proposed by the World Health Organization. The assumptions of a normal distribution were used to compare the observed results with those expected for each indicator classification category. Results and Discussion: It was observed that the percentages found for the different anthropometric indices studied differ significantly from the numbers that constitute a normal distribution, demonstrating the prevalence of an unsatisfactory nutritional status in those children. Accentuated thinness was found in about 3% of children of both sexes, in different age groups, when the desired would be 0.1%. Obesity, identified in around 10% of infants with such characteristics, is expected in 2.3%. Short height for age, which should not exceed this same percentage, exceeded the expected value by more than 100%, analyzing both sexes and different stages of life. However, when the information discovered is confronted with the results of current studies, nationwide, which similarly investigated the nutritional status of children in the same age group, it appears that the nutritional profile of children in that municipality follows the trend examined in the country. Final considerations: Based on the results, there is a need to intensify food and nutritional surveillance actions in the child population of Currais Novos, as a way of directing the planning and conduct of public policies and programs capable of influencing food consumption and, consequently, the nutritional status of these children. Keywords: Food security; Bolsa Familia Program; Child growth and development; Child Health.