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Nutritional status and body composition in Chilean preschool children attending day care centers
Milagros Marcia Velasquez1, Gabriela Salazar, Fernando Vio
1Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology (INTA), University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Insights
Childhood obesity in Chilean day care centers has risen significantly. Over a quarter of preschoolers are overweight or obese, highlighting a critical public health concern requiring intervention.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Nutrition Science
- Public Health
Background:
- Childhood obesity rates in Chilean day care centers increased from 5% in 1985 to 10.8% in 2000.
- Preschoolers attending day care centers represent a vulnerable population for nutritional status assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the nutritional status and body composition of preschool children in Chilean day care centers.
- To identify the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and stunting in this population.
Main Methods:
- Nutritional status was evaluated using weight-for-height (ZWH) and height-for-age (ZHA) Z scores.
- Body composition, including total body water (TBW) and fat percentage, was assessed using deuterium dilution in a subset of children.
- Skinfold measurements were correlated with body fat percentage.
Main Results:
- 28.5% of children were overweight, and 13.2% were obese.
- 18.6% of children exhibited height-for-age deficiency (stunting).
- Children classified as normal had lower water percentage and higher fat percentage compared to reference data.
Conclusions:
- A high prevalence of overweight, obesity, and stunting exists among Chilean preschoolers in day care centers.
- Body composition analysis reveals altered fat and water percentages in this population.
- Further validation of anthropometric models for assessing body composition in Chilean children is ongoing.
Abstract:
Obesity increased in preschool children attending day care centers in Chile from 5% in 1985 to 10.8% in 2000. We assessed the nutritional status and body composition by deuterium dilution, in preschool children attending day care centers. In the whole group (n = 681), 3 to 5 year old children were classified according to weight-for-height (ZWH) and height-for-age (ZHA) Z scores from the NCHS reference. We found 28.5% overweight, 13.2% obese, and 18.6% deficient in height-for-age. From this group, 239 children were evaluated for total body water (TBW) and fat percentage. Normal children in this group have a lower percentage of water (59.6 +/- 3.9%) and higher fat (22.2 +/- 4.7%) than the reference child. The association between the percentage of fat and skinfolds' sum (tricipital, bicipital, suprailiac, subescapular), was greater for overweight and obese children (r = 0.70). At present, validation of anthropometric models to evaluate fat and water content is underway in Chile.