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Patricia Bustos, MD, Hugo Amigo, PhD, Sergio R. Muñoz, PhD and Reynaldo Martorell, PhD

Patricia Bustos and Hugo Amigo are with the Department of Nutrition, School of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile. Sergio R. Muñoz is with the Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Universidad de la Frontera, Temuco, Chile. Reynaldo Martorell is with the Department of International Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Ga.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Patricia Bustos, MD, Department of Nutrition, School of Medicine, University of Chile, Independencia 1027, Santiago, Chile (e-mail: pbustos{at}machi.med.uchile.cl).

Objectives. This study sought to determine whether the short stature of Mapuche children, an indigenous group in Chile, reflects poverty or genetic heritage and whether the international reference population, derived from studies 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 ancestry, 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 stature between ethnic groups, and in low-poverty areas in Santiago, the capital city, mean stature was only slightly less than in the reference population.

Conclusions. Poverty, not ancestry, explains the short stature of Mapuche children, and use of the international reference to assess growth in this population is appropriate.