Nutritional status of children under five years of age in Rondônia, Brazil Northern region and in Brazil: 2008 to 2019

ABSTRACT Objective To describe the nutritional profiles of children under five years of age in the state of Rondônia, comparing them with those from the Northern Region of Brazil and from Brazil. Methods This was a time series ecological study. Data were collected from the Food and Nutrition Surveillance System. The information concerned Body Mass Index by age, gender and place of residence. A time-trend analysis was performed using linear regression applying the Prais-Winsten technique and serial autocorrelation verification using the Durbin and Watson test in Stata®16.0. Results There was an annual increasing trend for the thinness, risk of overweight, overweight and obesity regardless of gender, age and location and for extreme thinness, with the exception of girls and for the age of 2 to 5 years, which revealed a stationary trend. Among boys and children of both genders under two years of age, annual growth trends were higher for non-eutrophic nutritional status when compared to the other groups. The growth rates of nutritional disorders found in the Northern region were higher than in the state of Rondônia and in Brazil. Conclusion It is necessary to review health policies aiming at the promotion and prevention of nutritional problems considering the current situation where extreme conditions such as thinness and obesity coexist, with special attention to male children under 2 years of age.