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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #107919
Title: HEALTH AND NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF INFANTS, CHILDREN, AND ADOLESCENTS

Author
item Bogle, Margaret
item SMITH, JUNEAL - ARKANSAS CHILDREN'S HOSP
item SCHOLLE, SARAH - UNIV OF PITTSBURGH MED

Submitted to: Nutrition and Health Status in the Lower Mississippi Delta of AR, LA, & MS
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The effects of suboptimal nutrition are nowhere more important than during growth and development. Poor nutritional status produces a continuum of risk from infancy through childhood and adolescence. Effects of under nutrition on growth, cognitive development, social interactions, and developmental status are profound and documented. Indices available reflecting the nutritional status of infants include infant mortality rates, breast feeding rates, and some information on the incidence of failure to thrive (FTT). For preschool children the data come from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and from the Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System (PedNSS). For adolescents very few data are available for this Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD) area. The mortality rate for black infants is more than twice that of white infants nationally, and the trend indicates that the disparity is getting larger. The infant mortality rate for Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi exceeds the national rate. Data provided by WIC programs in the three states indicate a very low prevalence of breast-feeding and somewhat lower in the LMD than in other areas of each state. Anthropometric indicators for children show that the three states have higher rates of overweight than the national rates and approximately the same rates for underweight. Although the data are scarce relating to nutrition problems specific to older children and adolescents in the LMD, the evidence of overwhelming poverty leads to an expectation of a high prevalence of nutrient deficits and excesses, growth related problems, and negative health behaviors.