Abstract

CALVO, Elvira Beatriz  and  AGUIRRE, Patricia. Crisis de la seguridad alimentaria en la Argentina y estado nutricional en una población vulnerable. Arch. argent. pediatr. [online]. 2005, vol.103, n.1, pp.77-90. ISSN 0325-0075.

During the last years the determinant variables of food security have deteriorated considerably. A major crisis in food access surged by the beginning of 2002. Population under the poverty line increased from 24.8% in 1995 to 54.3% in 2002. Objectives. To analyze the evolution of food security determinants during the last 7 years and to evaluate the effect of the crisis in food access over the nutritional status of a vulnerable population. Population, material and methods. Time trend series of official data on the food market, employment, income, poverty and public policies are analyzed. Within this framework, two comparable samples of children under 6 years of age attending to the public health system were studied in 1995/96 and 2002/03. Data from 8 provinces, which performed both surveys, were combined and weighed according to the relationship between sample size and total population of children of 0-5 years. These 8 provinces represent 59.5% of total population of children under 6 in the country. Sample sizes were 49,487 subjects in 1995/6 and 60,905 subjects in 2002/3. Results. Prevalence of indexes below -2 standard deviations were: weight for age 5.08% and 4.87%; height for age 11.39% and 11.61%, and weight for height 2.27% and 2.59% in 2002 and 1995, respectively. Prevalence of weight for height over +2 standard deviations was 8.06% in 2002 and 8.40% in 1995. In spite of the considerable deterioration of the socioeconomic context, there was no significant worsening in the nutritional status of this population. Conclusion. Four hypotheses are discussed to explain this apparent paradox: a change in the population who demand attention in the public health sector, the possibility that the effect of increasing poverty has no impacted yet in anthropometry, the potential compensatory effect of social programs, and the family strategies to protect their most vulnerable members.

Keywords : Food security; Children; Nutritional status; Pre-valence.

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