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Anthropometry and body composition among highland and lowland children in Ecuador
Author(s) -
Castillo Fritz,
Katuli Sozina Dora,
Beeson Lawrence,
CorderoMacIntyre Zaida
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.25.1_supplement.592.31
Objective Nutritional status and body composition (BC) were compared among 171 Ecuadorian children ages 7–15 years living in highland (53 boys, 61 girls) 10,000 ft above sea level and lowlands (34 boys, 23 girls) at 8,100 ft above sea level. Methods Measurements of height and weight were taken and converted to nutritional indices (height‐for‐age, weight‐for‐age, BMI‐for‐age) using World Health Organization reference standards. BC was estimated using Bioelectrical impedance measurements of percent fat (%F), fat mass (FM), and fat free mass (FFM). Results The overall prevalence for stunting (below −2 z‐scores height‐for‐age), underweight (below −2 z‐score weight‐for‐age), and low BMI (−2 z‐score BMI‐for‐age) was 7.6, 1.2, and 1.2%. In highland these were 11.4%, 1.8%, and 1.8%, respectively while in lowlands no records of poor nutritional indices were found. Mean percentile indices for height‐for‐age and weight‐for‐age were found to be significantly lower among highland children than lowland children (p<0.001 and p=0.027, respectively). Significantly larger measures for %F, FM, and FFM were observed among lowland children older than 11 years. Girls were found to have greater %F and FM compared to boys among older than 13 years. Conclusion There are significant differences in anthropometric measurements and BC between school children living in the highlands and lowlands of Ecuador. Grant Funding Source : School Of Public Health, Loma Linda University