Nutritional status of indigenous people from six indigenous territories in southern Brazil: A school-based study

Introduction: In Latin America the Indigenous population is a minority. In Brazil they represent 0.2% of the total population. Studies on nutritional and health status in this group are scarce. Objective: Assess the nutritional status of Indigenous (Kaingáng ethnicity) enrolled in schools located in the Indigenous Territories of Inhacorá, Rio da Várzea, Monte Caseros, Carreteiro, Cacique Doble and Ventarra in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Metodology: It´s a school-based cross-sectional study. Weight, height and waist circumference (WC) were measured according to WHO (1995) in 634 Kaingángs. The classification of nutritional status used the following criteria: Children (N=273; 4-10 years): height for age and weight for height indices, according to the National Center for Health Statistics - NCHS, 1977 (WHO, 1983); Adolescents (N= 344): Body Mass Index (BMI) for age according to WHO (2007); Adults (N= 17): BMI according to WHO (1995). WCs values were classified according WHO (2003). Double digitization and data analysis were conducted in SPSS 13.0. Relative and absolute frequencies were calculated. Results: 76.9% of the total students enrolled in the schools were evaluated. The mean ages (SD) was 11.9 (5.9) years and 52.1% were males. Frequencies of overweight in children, adolescents and adults were 11.0%, 4.1% and 58.8% respectively. WCs showed 52.9% of adults in high risk for metabolic diseases. Stunting occurred  in14.6% of the children. Conclusion: Partial results indicate a trend of overweight in all age groups studied and high WCs values in half of adults. Stunting has still an important occurrence among children.
Funding Source: National Fund for Development of Education - Ministry of Education. Support for Research Foundation of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS process nº 07500944)