Nutritional status of a nationwide sample of rural Mexican populations
Villalpando, S.; Flores-Huerta, S.; Hernández-Beltrán, M.J.; Ramírez-Grande, M.E.
Revista de Investigacion Clinica; Organo del Hospital de Enfermedades de la Nutricion 44(1): 21-30
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 0034-8376 PMID: 1523346 Document Number: 325233
The nutritional status of a sample of the rural population of Mexico comprising 15 552 individuals in 2587 households from 208 rural communities was evaluated. Body weight and height of rural boys and girls were found to be significantly lower than in their urban counterparts. Extreme values of weight for age or height for age inadequacy were more frequent in female subjects than in male subjects, in smaller communities than in larger ones, and in economically depressed zones than in those with a good economy. The data showed a lower frequency of mild and moderate forms of malnutrition than previous studies (20 vs. 50%) using as a criterion weight for age. Those differences are explained on the basis of sampling bias.