Nutritional deviations in children: comparative analysis of data from the food and nutrition surveillance system and those obtained by anthropometrists

OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence rates of nutritional deviations in children under five years of age according to data from the Food and Nutrition Surveillance System (Sistema de Vigilância Alimentar e Nutricional — SISVAN) and those obtained by trained anthropometrists. METHODS: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study based on data from 10 municipalities and 2 sources: i) SISVAN Web (secondary database) and ii) an investigation that evaluated the implementation of food and nutrition actions in the Family Health Strategy in the state of Paraíba (primary database), with 24,137 and 897 individuals, respectively. Proportions of overweight — according to weight/age (W/A), weight/height (W/H), and body mass index/age (BMI/A) — and stunting — according to the height/age (H/A) index — based on classifications of SISVAN Web and those obtained by trained anthropometrists were compared using the two-proportion Z-test. RESULTS: Frequencies of overweight, according to W/A (10.0 vs. 7.8%), W/H (17.2 vs. 14.3%), and BMI/A (18.1 vs. 14.4%), as well as stunting (12.3 vs. 8.6%), were higher on data from SISVAN Web than on those obtained by trained anthropometrists, and the differences were significant. CONCLUSIONS: The findings point to distortions in the nutritional classification of children under five years of age monitored by SISVAN Web.