title: Nutritional status of highland and lowland children in Ecuador.
abstract: We assessed the nutritional status of children in Ecuador using anthropometric measurements and body composition.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether living in the highlands in Quito was a predisposing factor to poor nutrition in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  We compared the children in highlands at 2772 m above sea level with their costal (605 m above sea level) counterparts at Santo Domingo de Los Colorados. By using the WHO standard reference 2007, we distinguished malnourished children from healthy children using Z-score of -2 as a cut-off point.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean Z-score indices for both height-for-age (HFA) and weight-for-age (WFA) were found to be significantly lower among urban children than for rural children (p < 0.001). Urban children were also four times more likely of becoming mildly stunted (OR = 3.95%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.818-8.448) and three times more likely of being mildly underweight (OR = 3.95%, 95% CI: 1.241-7.551).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Living in highland urban areas of Ecuador is a predisposing factor for poor nutrition among children.
authors: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA.
authors: Sozina
authors: S
authors: Katuli
authors: Zuhair S
authors: ZS
authors: Natto
authors: Lawrence
authors: L
authors: Beeson
authors: Zaida R
authors: ZR
authors: Cordero-MacIntyre
mesh_terms: D000531:Altitude; D001823:Body Composition; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004484:Ecuador; D017097:Electric Impedance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012424:Rural Population; D012885:Skinfold Thickness; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population