title: Nutritional status in two Mbyá-Guaraní communities from misiones (Argentina).
abstract: Growth and nutritional status of children and adults in two Mbyá-Guaraní communities from Argentina, was assessed. Height, weight, sitting height, upper arm circumference, triceps and subscapular skinfold were measured on 120 individuals aged from 2 to 60 between March and May, 2001. Data were transformed to z-scores using United States references (NHANES I and NHANES II). A z-score of less than -2 was used as the cut-off point to determine the prevalence of stunting and wasting respectively. Mean z-scores for weight, height, and upper arm circumference lie below the reference (0 > Z > -3), while in sitting height ratio and muscular area for females they were above the US standard (0 < Z < 2). Skinfold thicknesses and muscular area for males were similar to the reference (2 > Z > -1). Our findings are in agreement with others South American Indian research that the prevalence of stunting (36.7%) is significantly higher than wasting (1.8%). The presence of parasitic infections and nutritional environment previously described in this population could be related to the short stature.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones en Genética Básica y Aplicada (CIGEBA), Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP) & Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), La Plata, Argentina. oyhenart@museo.fcnym.unlp.edu.ar
authors.forename: E E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Oyhenart
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Techenski
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Orden
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001118:Argentina / Q000453:epidemiology; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D015995:Prevalence