INEQUALITIES IN MALNUTRITION AND LIVING CONDITIONS OF CHILDREN FROM NATIVE AND MIGRANT FAMILIES RESIDING IN THE PRODUCTIVE BELT OF LA PLATA CITY IN BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

BERGEL SANCHÍS ML; TORRES MF; QUINTERO FA,; LUIS MA; GARRAZA M; NAVAZO B; LUNA ME; GAUNA ME; CESANI MF

HUMAN GROWTH AND NUTRITION IN LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES

Springer Publishing

Año: 2023; p. 249 - 266

Argentina has been a preferred destination for Bolivian immigrant over decades, seeking better life conditions. Dietary habits is reported to be as one of the indicators of the living conditions and nutritional status of children. The present study aimed to characterize nutritional status of children living in the productive belt of La Plata city (Buenos Aires, Argentina) in the background of household socio-economic and environmental information (HSEI) and also to conduct a comparative analysis between native and immigrant families to find possible inequalities. The sample was made up of 465 children between 3.0 and 6.9 years; 64.3% were native families and 35.7% were immigrant families. Anthropometric measurements of weight and height were recorded and data were compared with WHO reference; structured surveys were conducted to obtain HSEI. Results showed 53.5% of the total participant childrenhad malnutrition: 6.2% undernutrition and 48.9% excess weight (32.3% overweight; 16.6% obesity). Children representing immigrant families had higher prevalence of excess weight than the native Argentine peers and the difference was significant (p