Extended composite index of anthropometric failure in Argentinean preschool and school children

BEJARANO, IF; OYHENART, EE; TORRES, MF; CESANI, MF; GARRAZA, M; NAVAZO, B; ZONTA, ML; LUIS, MA; QUINTERO, FA; DIPIERRI, JE; ALFARO, E; ROMÁN, EM; CARRILLO, R; DAHINTEN, S; LOMAGLIO, DB; MENECIER, N; MARRODÁN, MD

PUBLIC HEALTH NUTRITION.

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS

Año: 2019 vol. 22 p. 3327 - 3335

1368-9800

Objective: The Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) can only beapplied to children under 5 years of age and does not contemplate obesity. Theaim of this study was to propose an Extended CIAF (ECIAF) that combines the characterization of malnutrition due to undernutrition and excess weight, and apply it in six Argentine provinces.Design: ECIAF excludes children not in anthropometric failure (group A) and wascalculated from a percentage of children included in malnutrition categories B:wasting only; C: wasting and underweight; D: wasting, stunting and underweight;E: stunting and underweight; F: stunting only; Y: underweight only; G: only weight excess; and H: stunting and weight excess.Setting: Cross-sectional study conducted in Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chubut,Jujuy, Mendoza and Misiones (Argentina).Participants: 10 879 children of both sexes aged between 3 and 13·99.Results: ECIAF in preschool children (3 to 4·99 years) was 15·1 %. The highestprevalence was registered in Mendoza (16·7 %) and the lowest in Misiones (12·0 %). In school children (5 to 13·99 years) ECIAF was 28·6 %. Mendoza alsorecorded the highest rate (30·7 %), while Catamarca and Chubut had the lowestvalues (27·0 %). In the whole sample, about 25 % of the malnutrition was causedby undernutrition and 75 % by excess weight.Conclusions: The ECIAF summarizes anthropometric failure by both deficiencyand excess weight and it highlights that a quarter of the malnutrition in theArgentine population was caused by undernutrition, although there are differences between Provinces (P < 0·05). ECIAF estimates are higher than those of CIAF or under-nutrition