CHILD MALNUTRITION IN RURAL MEXICO - AN A NALYSIS OF NATIONAL FOOD SURVEYS

The national food surveys of 1974, 1979 and 1989 were analysed in orde r to evaluate the levels and tendencies of the malnutrition prevalence in children one to five years old. The malnutrition prevalence mantai ned its level with minor changes: it increased from 49 to 53 percent i n the group with -1 SD, and from 17 to 19 per cent in those with -2 SD , in relation with the oms-NCHS standards. If the information is analy sed by social sectors, it is possible to conclude that the apparent st ability is due to a process of nutritional polarization: the areas tha t had lower figures improved as the poor and Indian areas with high pr evalence of initial malnutrition deteriorated even more.