Nutrition and public health in the Dominican Republic

A nutrition survey was carried out in a mountainous region southwest of Santiago, Dominican Republic, to determine the extent of malnutrition in the area and to obtain information regarding food beliefs and practices needed to design a viable nutrition program. A stratified cluster sampling technique was used to interview 295 mothers of preschool children and examine 448 of their children under five years of age. The incidence of moderate and severe malnutrition was less than expected. Only 12.3% of the children were less than or equal to 75% of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reference standard for weight/age; however, 6.5% were greater than 110% of the standard. Children from large, poor families were most vulnerable to growth retardation. Definite meal patterns were identified that included varied sources of cereal products and animal and mixed vegetable proteins. Milk and sausage consumption had a significant positive association with all three growth parameters. Suggestions were made for further research and program development.