Objectives
Identify the nutritional status, the prevalence of anemia and micronutrients intake of children 1-5 years old in a Mexican indigenous community.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted with 39 children, representing 53.4% of all the children 1-5 years old from Tocoy, a Tének community located at San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The nutritional status was determined through anthropometric measurements, and height/length and weight were taken considering the guidelines by the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH). Z scores were calculated with the software WHO-Antrho plus. A capillary blood sample was used for measuring hemoglobin (Hb) (HemoCue Hb 201) and the prevalence of anemia established according to the World Health Organization guidelines. Micronutrient intake was measured trough a 24-hour recall that was analyzed with the software Nutrikcal. The dietary intake was compared with recommendations for Mexican population. Descriptive statistics was calculated with SPSS V.22.
Results
The prevalence for anemia was 33.3% (Hb=11.3±1.1g/dL) which was higher than the reported by NIPH in San Luis Potosí. Regarding the nutritional status 10.3% had stunting, 7.69% had overweight/obesity, and 5.1% had thinness. The dietary intake was 974.9±448.6Kcal, 29.6±16.4g for proteins, 27.8±20.4g for lipids and 155.0±67.6g for carbohydrates. Deficient intake according to Mexico’s adequate intake was detected for the following micronutrients: for zinc 82.1%, cobalamine 51.3%, vitamin A 46.2%, calcium 43.6%, magnesium (43.6%), ascorbic acid 8%, and for iron 87.2%.
Conclusions
High prevalence of malnutrition and micronutrient defficient intake was detected. The intake of high nutritional value food available at this community need to be promoted..
