Influencia del nivel educativo materno sobre el estado nutricional infantil y adolescente de La Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Abstract

This paper analyses the relationship between maternal educational level (MEL) and child and adolescent nutritional status. An anthropometric study was carried out on 3166 schoolchildren aged 3 to 14 years from La Plata (Buenos Aires) and nutritional categories were determined based on body weight, height and body mass index (BMI). The MEL was obtained by means of a survey. Most of the population presented healthy nutritional status, although a bias towards overweight was observed, regardless of the MEL. Height was the most informative and differentiating variable of the population in relation to the MEL: schoolchildren whose mothers had low educational levels showed smaller heights and higher risk of suffering from it, while the group with high MEL showed higher heights and sexual dimorphism. Higher maternal schooling seems to result in better child growth in the long run.