Héctor Javier Sánchez-Pérez ^1*, Miguel A. Hernán ², Adriana Ríos González ¹, Marcos Arana Cedeño ³, Albert Navarro ⁴, Douglas Ford ⁵, Mark A. Micek ⁶, Paula Brentlinger ⁶

¹ El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Chiapas, Mexico; Grups de Recerca d' America i d'Africa Llatines
² Harvard School of Public Health, United States of America
³ Instituto Nacional de la Nutricion y Ciencias Medicas, Salvador Zubiran, Mexico, D.F.
⁴ Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Espana; Grups de Recerca d' America i d'Africa Llatines
⁵ Physicians for Human Rights
⁶ School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington; PHR

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: hsanchez{at}sclc.ecosur.mx.

	Abstract

We performed a cross-sectional, community-based survey, supplemented by interviews with community leaders in Chiapas, Mexico, to examine the prevalence and predictors of child malnutrition in regions affected by the Zapatista conflict. The prevalence rates of stunting, wasting, and underweight were 54.1%, 2.9%, and 20.3%, respectively, in 2666 children aged younger than 5 years. Stunting was associated with indigenous ethnicity, poverty, region of residence, and intracommunity division. The results indicate that malnutrition is a serious public health problem in the studied regions.

Key Words: Community Health, Epidemiology, Nutrition/Food, Public Health Practice, Rural Health, Socioeconomic Factors