Estado nutricional de escolares de 5 a 9 años del Valle del Cauca - Colombia

Background: The nutritional status of the school population serves to trace the quality of life of students, so its analysis helps, among other things, to design public policies related to health, childhood, and youth. The objective was to determine the nutritional status of boys and girls from five to nine years of school in decentralized municipalities of the Department. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out, using a random sample of 4,770 from a universe of 45,371 minors enrolled in school through a multi-stage probabilistic sampling design. The assessment of nutritional status was carried out according to the parameters established in Resolution 2465 of 2016 of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection. Results: 13.2% of the schoolchildren were overweight, while 7.6% were classified as obese. On the other hand, 5.6% of the schoolchildren were thin. Conclusions: Malnutrition, overweight and obesity coexist in schoolchildren in Valle del Cauca.