Anthropometric indicators of the nutritional status of children in early childhood education

Abstract

Knowledge of the growth and development profile of children cared for in daycare centers allows the implementation of health promotion and disease prevention actions, contributing to the design of public policies, intersectoral articulation and awareness of the population, enabling the child to achieve a healthy and harmonious development. The aim of this study was to evaluate the neuroanthropometric indicators of the nutritional status of preschool children. A cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out in 13 daycare centers located in peripheral neighborhoods of a municipality on the western border of RS, with 530 children, 277 girls and 253 in the age group between one and five years old. The anthropometric variables measured were weight, height, and head circumference of the children. The Pearson Correlation Test was used to verify the relationship between head circumference and weight, at a significance level of 5%. The results showed a strong positive correlation between the weight and height of the children, indicating that the tallest children had the highest weights, which is in accordance with the normative tables of the World Health Organization. There was also a strong positive correlation between head circumference and weight, which corroborates what is expected in the specialized literature. It is concluded that the neuroanthropometric indicators of nutritional status, such as weight, height and head circumference, are measures that portray the child's health status and that their periodic evaluation should be adopted in schools in order to monitor the child's growth and development.

DOI:https://doi.org/10.56238/sevened2024.014-007