Abstract

GUGELMIN, Silvia A.; SANTOS, Ricardo V.  and  LEITE, Maurício S.. Physical growth of five to ten year old Xavante indian children in Mato Grosso. Rev. bol. ped. [online]. 2003, vol.42, n.1, pp.58-62. ISSN 1024-0675.

Objective: This study investigated the physical growth of Xavante indian children 5-10 years of age living at the Sangradouro and São Marcos reservations, Mato Grosso, Central Brazil. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in February 1997 at two Indian schools. The following data were collected: birth date, sex, weight, stature, upper arm circumference and triceps skinfold thickness. Data on stature and weight were compared to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) growth curves, following recommendations put forward by the World Health Organization. Results: The results show that 9% of the sample were below -2 S.D. for height for age. For boys, statistically significant differences (p<0.05) in height for age and weight for age z-score values were observed between the two communities. Similar differences were not observed for girls. Xavante children are shorter in stature than D.S. childrenoHowever, for some age groups, their average values of stature overlap with those ofBrazilian children investigated by the PesquisaNacional sobre Saúde e Nutrição (PNSN). Conclusions: The physical growth of Xavante children present important differences when compared to the growth profile of a number of other SouthAmerican indigenous populations. It is argued that NorthAmerican curves might be appropriate to evaluate the nutritional status of the Xavante children.

Keywords : nutrition; anthropometry; physical growth; children health; South American Indians.