Health and nutrition status of children assisted in public daycare centers of Campina Grande, Paraíba

Abstract Introduction The health and nutrition status of Brazilian children is still worrying. This study aimed to characterize the morbidity and nutritional profile of children assisted in public daycare centers in the city of Campina Grande, Paraíba. Methods This is a descriptive study of prevalence in a probabilistic sample of 299 children. Data on the socio-demographic condition (age, sex, area of residence, benefit from social programs), nutritional status (birth weight, height/age, weight/height, weight/age, micronutrients nutritional status), family food security of situation and health (health problems in the last 15 days, signs of subclinical infectious processes, eosinophilia, parasitism) of children were collected. Results The most frequent anthropometric deviations were stunting (7.0%) and overweight (8.3%). Food insecurity was found in 68.9% of families. Anemia was found in 16.97% of children and zinc deficiency in 13.28%. Children presented high frequency of health problems in the last 15 days reported by the mother (68.6%), eosinophilia (65.5%), parasitism (82.7%) and poly-parasitism (46.4%). Conclusion Children assisted in daycare centers presented infectious diseases and nutritional deficiencies during epidemiologic transition predominance periods. Food insecurity stands out in the food and nutrition status, with significant prevalence of stunting and overweight.