Diagnosis of child and adolescent nutritional status

Abstract

Objective: To present a review on the methods of assessment of the nutritional status of children and adolescents, emphasizing anthropometry and the various methods of evaluation of body composition, and discussing their advantages, limitations and risks.Methods: Chapters of textbooks, theses, articles relevant to the theme, as well as personal files and previous publications of the authors were selected.Results: Anthropometry, which consists of the assessment of physical dimensions and global composition of the human body, has been the isolated method most frequently used for the nutritional diagnosis, mainly in childhood and adolescence, due to its easy execution, low cost and innocuousness. The most frequently adopted measures aim at determining body mass, expressed by weight; linear dimensions, especially height; body composition and reserves of energy and proteins, estimated through subcutaneous fat and muscle mass. Laboratory methods mainly developed to obtain an accurate evaluation of body composition are presented. The justification for methods that expose children and adolescents to ionizing radiation represents another raised issue.Conclusions: On selecting methods for the evaluation of the nutritional status, the choice should be on those capable of better detecting the nutritional problem under analyses, also considering the cost, the level of personal ability and the time required to adequately apply them, their receptivity by the studied population and possible risks to health.

Estado nutricional de pacientes pediátricos ostomizados

“…According to the III State Health and Nutrition Survey [Pesquisa Estadual de Saúde e Nutrição (PESN III)] (22) , held in 2006 with children under 5 years old in the state of Pernambuco, the prevalence of stunting was 7.7%, well below the value found in this study. However, Sigulem et al (23) found a similar result to that here described, with 25% of patients presenting impaired linear growth. In a study involving 749 children and adolescents hospitalized in the pediatric surgery at Hospital São Paulo, there was a percentage of 19% for short stature or risk for short stature (24) .…”

Nutritional status of children with vivax malaria in the Amazon Basin

“…In the study, the nutritional status of children and adolescents with P. vivax malaria were assessed using anthropometrics measures, of which values are related to genetic and environmental characteristics [17,20,21]. The nutritional indexes derived from anthropometric measures were classified according to the regional and national standards [18].…”

“…The relation height-for-age was chosen to assess the associations of the nutritional status with the history of the disease and with parasitemia at admission since it is a more reliable estimation of a long-term impact on nutrition. Other nutritional indexes based on patient weight, such as weight-for-age and body mass index-for-age may suffer considerable changes in the acute phase of several diseases [17,20,21].…”

Déficit estatural e fatores associados em crianças de 6 a 24 meses atendidas em unidades de saúde do sudoeste da Bahia

“…Os dois primeiros anos de vida são caracterizados por uma fase de crescimento acelerado e por importantes aquisições no processo de desenvolvimento, representando, assim, um período de grande vulnerabilidade aos agravos sociais, econômicos e ambientais 2 . O retardo de crescimento linear ou déficit estatural é uma medida de desnutrição a longo prazo, a qual geralmente está associada a uma combinação de consumo alimentar inadequado e infecções de repetição que estão intimamente relacionados com o padrão de vida da população, incluindo o acesso a alimentação, moradia e assistência à saúde [3][4][5] . O déficit estatural aumenta o risco de doenças infecciosas e mortalidade precoce, bem como pode acarretar comprometimento do desenvolvimento psicomotor, atraso na capacidade intelectual, menor capacidade produtiva na idade adulta, além de ser considerado determinante do baixo peso ao nascer entre as futuras gestantes 5,6 .…”