Abstract

SGUASSERO, Yanina; DE ONIS, Mercedes  and  CARROLI, Guillermo. Efectividad de la alimentación suplementaria en países en vías de desarrollo: revisión sistemática. Arch. argent. pediatr. [online]. 2007, vol.105, n.3, pp.198-205. ISSN 0325-0075.

Introduction. Supplementary feeding is a nutritional intervention widely implemented in developing countries. However, disagreement exists regarding the magnitude of its effects on physical growth in preschool children. Objective. To conduct a systematic review of randomized, controlled-trials comparing supplementary feeding against no intervention or placebo that examined anthropometrical outcomes. Population. Children aged 0-5 years old from developing countries. Materials and methods. Searches were carried out in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, LILACS, and other databases. Studies were selected and assessed independently by two authors of the review. The RevMan 4.2.7 software was used. The data are presented as data as Weighted Mean Differences with 95% of interval confidence (IC). Results. Four trials were included. The trial from Jamaica showed a positive effect between the intervention and control groups in terms of length after 12 months of intervention [Weighted Mean Difference 1.3 cm (IC 95% 0.03 to 2.57)]. The studies from Indonesia found no improvements in the group receiving supplementary feeding. The analytical approach of the guatemalan study not allows estimation of the magnitude of effects during the intervention. Conclusions. The scarcity of high-quality data precludes the authors to draw any firm conclusions about the effects on child growth. Methodological issues such as sample size calculation and blinding need to be addressed in future studies.

Keywords : Child growth; Child nutrition; Supplementary feeding; Systematic review.

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