Introduction:

the Museo Pedagógico Nacional (MPN) organized summer camps for the poorest schoolchildren of both sexes (1887-1926). The Former Students of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza (CAAILE) also organized theirs (1894-1936). Numerous anthropometric variables were taken at the beginning and the end of Camps.

Objectives:

compare the nutritional status of young people upon arrival in the camps with contemporary references. Analyze the received food and determine its suitability. Check the impact of this diet on the nutritional status of the individuals.

Methods:

the sample consists of 2937 individuals (1720 males and 1217 females), from 6 to 17 years old. Two age groups have been established (≤ 11 and > 11 years). Diet information in the camps has been collected and its quality estimated, using the KidMed questionnaire. Height, weight, mamillary circumference and right and left dynamometry data were collected. Respective Body Mass Indexes (BMI) have been estimated. Measures at the end of the Camps were compared to those at the beginning of them, according to age and sex. BMI / age and height / age (according to WHO) categories have been also compared at the beginning and the end of Camps, by age group and sex. The software SPSS v.22 and the AnthroPlus of the WHO have been used.

Results and conclusions:

diet analysis shows that it was balanced and healthy. Individuals BMI at the beginning of the camp was inferior to that of their contemporaries. The received food had a positive effect on their nutritional status.

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