RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The goal of a nutrition and food surveillance system is to examine the nutritional effect of food policies and nutritional programs and predict future trends. PURPOSE: To assess nutritional status of infants after implementing a nutritional and food surveillance system (SISVAN) in day care centers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Study population consisted of 988 children between 45 days and 60 months of age registered in the SISVAN from april 2006 to May 2007; users of 18 day care centers located in 11 counties of the state of Nuevo Leon. Analysis consisted of descriptive statistics and paired t tests for comparison of Z Score (ZS) means of nutritional indicators such as weight for height (W/H), height for age (H/A) and weight for age (W/A), between 2006 and 2007. Malnutrition prevalence rates were also estimated for both years. RESULTS: Fifty-two percent of infants were male. In 2006, W/I H ZS mean was -0.32 +/- 0.99 and in 2007, 0.01 +/- 0.83 (p < 0.05); H/A was -0.05 +/- 0.98 and 0.46 +/- 0.89 in 2006 and 2007, respectively (p < 0.05); and W/A was -0.37 +/- 0.94 and 0.17 +/- 0.91, respectively (p < 0.05). In 2006, undernourishment prevalence varied from 14.5 to 17.8% depending of the anthropometric indicator; and in 2007, from 10.0 to 11.6%. In 2006, overweight and obesity prevalence was between 8.8 and 14.3%, also depending of the anthropometric indicator, while in 2007 between 9.7 and 10.7%. CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed a positive result in malnutrition rates after one year of SISVAN implementation in children in day care centers.