The social determinants of health and the nutritional status of students from a city in the Brazilian Amazon

An individual's nutritional condition influences his/her development, but the prevalence of unhealthy eating habits alters nutritional balance and triggers several health complications, which are also influenced by social determinants of health. For this reason, this study aimed to analyze the social determinants of health and the nutritional status of students from a public elementary and high school in a neighborhood on the outskirts of Belém, Pará State, Brazil. Along with the collection of anthropometric measures, an epidemiological and food census was used, following widely accepted protocols tested in the Amazon region, as well as an individual clinical evaluation. Z score and descriptive statistics were performed. 55 students were measured, 30 female and 25 male, with an average age of 13 years old, average BMI of 19.66 for the female group and 19.38 for the male, with 4% of the boys having “severe delay ”, while 3.7% of girls reported a“ delay ”in their growth. 13.3% of girls and 25% of boys drink alcohol. The students showed general physical status without major complications, there were no obese individuals, but there is a potential risk for the condition. However, because it is a peripheral area, the social determinants of health may strongly allow the processing of other nutritional diseases, such as malnutrition and especially stress, since we identified a student who self mutilates, and many others who experience daily violence and low life perspectives.