Physical growth in the first year of life of Terena Indigenous children living in an urban zone: longitudinal study.

Abstract

The present study aimed to assess the anthropometric nutrition status and physical growth of Terena Indigenous children living in an urban zone of the city of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, in their first year of life. Children who were born between June 2017 and July 2018 (n = 42) participated in the study. In total, 4.8% of the children presented a low height for age (H/A) in the 12th month of life. According to body mass index (BMI) for age, overweight affected 15.0% of the individuals belonging to the female sex at the age of 12 months, and obesity was observed in 4.8% of the children belonging to both sexes at this same age. Terena Indigenous children's length curve failed to reach the median value recorded for the reference population. Weight and body mass index curves for age, mainly among individuals belonging to the female sex, were often above the reference median value. The Terena growth curves recorded an average linear growth of lower than expected and a weight gain of higher than the reference median. This profile is compatible with the persistence of unfavorable conditions for children's growth and nutrition, as well as with an accelerated process of food and nutritional transition, where the racial dimension of health inequities cannot be disregarded.