Effectiveness of mussels (Mytella falcata) in malnourished children’s recovery living in the slums in Maceió, Alagoas

Abstract Objectives: to assess the efficacy of mussels (Mytella falcata) in malnourished children’s recovery. Methods: 64 chronically malnourished children were accompanied for 12 months and attended at the Centro Recuperação e Educação Nutricional (Recovery Center and Educational Nutrition). The children were paired by age and malnutrition level forming three groups, which they received a balanced diet for nutritional recovery differing only on protein source. The group was offered (1) preparation of red meat, group (2) preparation of mussels and group (3) preparation of mussels in coconut milk. Results: the anthropometric assessment revealed that the children obtained a mean increase in the Z score in A-I indice of 0.70 for the group who red meat, 0.62 for the group who had mussels and 0.57 the group who had mussels cooked in coconut milk (p摘要 研究目的：评估镰状贻贝（Mytella falcata）对慢性营养不良儿童康复的效果。研究方法：选取64名慢性营养不良儿童开展为期12个月的随访，所有受试对象均在营养康复与教育中心（Centro Recuperação e Educação Nutricional）接受照护。研究人员按年龄与营养不良程度对儿童进行配对分组，共形成3组；三组均采用均衡膳食方案开展营养康复干预，仅蛋白质来源存在差异。其中组1供应红肉制备的膳食，组2供应贻贝制备的膳食，组3供应椰奶烹制的贻贝膳食。研究结果：人体测量学评估显示，红肉组儿童的A-I指数Z评分平均提升0.70，贻贝组为0.62，椰奶烹制贻贝组为0.57（p