Nutritional state of Mexican children younger than five years from Mennonite community, Mestiza population of urban and the rural areas from Durango, Mexico

Introduction: Malnutrition is a public health problem in children younger than five years in developing countries. The diagnosis and monitoring of the nutritional conditions of children constitute a practical form of evaluating health conditions. Objectives: To determine the nutritional state of children younger than five years in three communities and to know if there are ethnic differences among these children. Methods: The indicators weight/age; height/age; and weight/height were determined. An analysis of Kruskal- Wallis variance was carried out. Results: The Mennonites had the highest percentage of overweight/obesity. The rural children were eutrophic and with lower percentage of malnutrition. The urban children showed a higher percentage of malnutrition based on the indicators of weight/age. Conclusion: Differences with respect to access to food and ignorance on correct diet, are factors that have led to insufficient, incorrect, and disordered food nutrients that entail excess and disequilibrium in the diet reflected in the nutritional alterations found in this study.