Crescimento físico e estado nutricional de populações indígenas brasileiras

This paper reviews the literature on the physical growth of native populations from Brazil. Studies aiming at relating the physical growth patterns of these populations to their nutritional status are relatively recent and still do not provide a comprehensive picture of the situation. Compared to no...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Santos, Ricardo V.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:1993
País:Brasil
Institución:Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ)
Repositorio:Cadernos de Saúde Pública
Idioma:portugués
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.teste-cadernos.ensp.fiocruz.br:article/466
Acceso en línea:https://cadernos.ensp.fiocruz.br/ojs/index.php/csp/article/view/466
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Antropometria
Antropologia Física
Estado Nutricional
Índios Sul-Americanos
Descripción
Sumario:This paper reviews the literature on the physical growth of native populations from Brazil. Studies aiming at relating the physical growth patterns of these populations to their nutritional status are relatively recent and still do not provide a comprehensive picture of the situation. Compared to non-indigenous Brazilian children and international reference populations (NCHS), indigenous children are short and light for their age, although they maintain their body proportionality, as evaluated by weight for height. These findings could be interpreted as an indication of high rates of chronic protein-energy undernutrition. At least for some groups, data derived from health surveys provide further indication of the existence of marginal nutrition. It is pointed out, however, that international reference curves may not be appropriate for evaluating the physical growth of specific populations, which may be the case of Brazilian indigenous children. It is also pointed out that changes in subsistence practices and in health profiles due to the acculturation process may contribute to the deterioration of nutritional status of indigenous peoples.