Conclusions from the Mexican National Nutrition Survey 1999: translating results into nutrition policy

Objective. This article presents and overview of the mainresults and conclusions from the Mexican National NutritionSurvey 1999 (NNS-1999) and the principal nutritionpolicy implications of the findings. Material and Methods.The NNS-1999 was conducted on a national probabilisticsample of almost 18 00...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Juan A. Rivera, Jaime Sepúlveda
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2003
País:México
Institución:Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública
Repositorio:Redalyc-INSP
OAI Identifier:oai:redalyc.org:10609813
Acceso en línea:https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=10609813
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Salud
anemia
Mexico
obesity
stunting
overweight
Descripción
Sumario:Objective. This article presents and overview of the mainresults and conclusions from the Mexican National NutritionSurvey 1999 (NNS-1999) and the principal nutritionpolicy implications of the findings. Material and Methods.The NNS-1999 was conducted on a national probabilisticsample of almost 18 000 households, representative of thenational, regional, as well as urban and rural levels in Mexico.Subjects included were children <12 years and women 12-49years. Anthropometry, blood specimens, diet and socioeconomicinformation of the family were collected. Results. Theprincipal public nutrition problems are stunting in children <5 years of age; anemia, iron and zinc deficiency, and low serumvitamin C concentrations at all ages; and vitamin A deficiencyin children. Undernutrition (stunting and micronutrientdeficiencies) was generally more prevalent in the lower socioeconomicgroups, in rural areas, in the south and in Indigenouspopulation. Overweight and obesity are serious publichealth problems in women and are already a concern inschool-age children. Conclusions. A number of programsaimed at preventing undernutrition are currently in progress;several of them were designed or modified as a result of theNNS-1999 findings. Most of them have an evaluation componentthat will inform adjustments or modifications of theirdesign and implementation. However, little is being done forthe prevention and control of overweight and obesity andthere is limited experience on effective interventions. Thedesign and evaluation of prevention strategies for controllingobesity in the population, based on existing evidence, is urZagentlyneeded and success stories should be brought to scalequickly to maximize impact. The English version of this paperis available too at: http://www.insp.mx/salud/index.html