Peer-reviewed article
Prevalence and determinants of wasting and overweight in Brazilian children between 6 and 59 months: Brazilian National Survey on Child Nutrition (ENANI-2019).
Dayana Rodrigues Farias, Luiz Antonio Anjos, Talita Lelis Berti, Nadya Helena Alves-Santos, P G Andrade et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This national survey examined malnutrition patterns in 11,789 Brazilian children aged 6-59 months using WHO growth standards. Overweight affected 9.5% of children while wasting affected 2.6%, showing overweight is a more significant public health concern in Brazil. Key risk factors for overweight included younger age, high consumption of ultra-processed foods, and maternal overweight, while wasting was associated with regional differences and maternal underweight.
Key points
- Overweight prevalence was 9.5% compared to wasting at 2.6% among children 6-59 months
- Children aged 6-23 months had 1.7 times higher odds of overweight than older age groups
- Consumption of 5 or more ultra-processed food groups increased overweight odds by 1.8 times
- Maternal overweight increased child overweight risk (OR: 1.5) while maternal underweight increased wasting risk (OR: 5.4)
- Wasting was significantly more prevalent in the Northeast, Southeast, South and Midwest regions
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional survey capturing prevalence and associations at a single time point, so causality cannot be established. The analysis identifies correlates of nutritional status but does not evaluate an intervention or its effectiveness.
Abstract
Understanding the determinants of malnutrition is pivotal for public health interventions. This study aimed to identify socio-economic, demographic, dietary and maternal determinants of wasting and overweight among Brazilian children between 6 and 59 months. Data from the Brazilian National Survey on Child Nutrition were analysed (n 11 789). Children's weight-for-height Z-scores were calculated according to the WHO growth standard and classified as wasting (Z < -2), normal weight (-2 ≤ Z ≤ 1), overweight risk (1 < Z ≤ 2) and overweight (Z > 2). Socio-economic, demographic, dietary and maternal covariables were considered. Adjusted multinomial logistic regression (OR and 95 % CI) was employed. The prevalence of overweight and wasting was 9·5 and 2·6 %, respectively. In the adjusted model, younger age (6-23 months: OR: 1·7; 95 % CI: 1·3, 2·2), consumption of ≥ 5 ultra-processed food groups (OR: 1·8; 95 % CI: 1·1, 3·1), maternal underweight (OR: 0·4; 95 % CI: 0·2, 0·9), overweight (OR: 1·5; 95 % CI: 1·2, 1·9) and mild food insecurity (OR: 0·8; 95 % CI: 0·6, 1·0) were associated with child overweight. The Brazilian Northeast (OR: 4·9; 95 % CI: 2·1, 11·3), Southeast (OR: 7·1; 95 % CI: 3·0, 16·6), South (OR: 4·7; 95 % CI: 1·8, 12·1), Midwest regions (OR: 2·7; 95 % CI: 1·2, 6·2) and maternal underweight (OR: 5·4; 95 % CI: 2·7, 10·7) were associated with wasting. Overweight in Brazil is prevalent among children between 6 and 59 months, while wasting is not a major public health problem. The main determinants of these Brazilian children's nutritional status were age, ultra-processed food consumption and maternal nutritional status.