Growth in indigenous and nonindigenous Chilean schoolchildren from 3 poverty strata

Objectives. This study sought to determine whether the short stature of Map uche children, an indigenous group in Chile, reflects poverty or genetic he ritage and whether the international reference population, derived from stu dies of US children of mostly European origin, is appropriate for assessing growth failure in indigenous peoples of the Americas. Methods. The study assessed 768 schoolchildren of Mapuche and non-Mapuche a ncestry, aged 6 to 9 years, living under conditions of extreme, medium, and low poverty. Results. Growth retardation was strongly related to poverty in both ethnic groups. Within poverty levels, there were no significant differences in sta ture between ethnic groups, and in low-poverty areas in Santiago, the capit al city, mean stature was only slightly less than in the reference populati on. Conclusions. Poverty, not ancestry, explains the short stature of Mapuche c hildren, and use of the international reference to assess growth in this po pulation is appropriate.