Prevalence of Undernutrition and Iron Deficiency in Pre-school Children from Different Socioeconomic Regions in the City of Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico.

Prevalence of Undernutrition among Children in the Garhwal Himalayas

“…Among children in a periurban area of Alexandria, Egypt, Wierzba et al [19] reported prevalence rates of only 19% for stunting, 3% for wasting, and 7% for underweight, as compared with rates of 78.5% for stunting and 80.1% for wasting in Garhwal. Similarly, Tejas et al [5] reported prevalence rates of 28.8% for stunting and 40.9% for wasting among Mexican children, and Snarill et al [4] reported prevalence rates of 52% for mild undernourishment, 47% for stunting, and 36% for wasting among Malaysian children in Kuala Lumpur. A study in Brazil [21] found 2.2% of preschool children and 1.6% of school-aged children to be severely stunted.…”

“…Further, poor health and malnutrition in early childhood may affect cognitive abilities, which are necessary for learning processes and consequently educational achievement [4]. Lack of adequate foodand in particular, high-quality protein-is one of the causes of malnutrition in children, which can result in retarded growth [5]. Linear growth retardation is prevalent (10% to 80%) in developing countries.…”

Socioeconomic variation in the growth status of urban school children 6–13 years in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 1972 and 2000

“…Observations among 124 preschool children 4-6 years of age in the city of Oaxaca in the late 1990s (Wyatt and Tejas, 2000) also indicated more variety in foods consumed compared to the 1970s (see above), but noted greater consumption of tortillas and beans compared to the sample of school children in 2000. About 24% of the preschool children were anemic and another 12% were iron deficient (Tejas et al, 2001). Mean height-scores for the preschool children in the late 1990s were 21.68, 20.99, and 20.73 for children from low (n 5 64), medium (n 5 47) and high (n 5 13) income families, respectively; the prevalence of stunting was 36 and 19% in the low and medium income children, respectively (Wyatt and Tejas, 2000).…”

Are Vitamin A and Iron Deficiencies Re-Emerging in Urban Latin America? A Survey of Schoolchildren in Bogota, Colombia

“…We found positive associations between plasma ferritin levels and indicators of higher socioeconomic status. Previous studies have reported associations between iron status and socioeconomic status indicators, including low family income [32], poor living conditions [31], living in rented housing [18,29,31], and living in rural communities [29], primarily among preschool-age children. Poorer people who lack access to animal foods and other dietary sources of highly bioavailable iron due to economic constraints may choose less expensive staple foods with low contents of essential micronutrients and high concentrations of phytates and other inhibitors of iron absorption [33].…”