Residential Backyard and their Relationship with the Nutritional Condition of Rural, Migrant and Urban Childrenuintais

Ana Paula Branco do Nascimento.
Biologist, applying for a doctorate in ESALQ/USP’s Agrosystem Ecology Interunit Graduate Program (Programa de Pós-Graduação Interunidades em Ecologia de Agroecossistemas, PPGI-EA − Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz – USP). E-mail: apbnasci@esalq.usp.br

Marcelo Correa Alves.
Agronomist Engineer, applying for a PPGI-EA’s master degree, Professor of the Agricultural Informatic Center (CIAGRI/ESALQ-USP). E-mail: macalves@esalq.usp.br

Abstract

This work has investigated the presence and the use of backyard in residences of pre-scholar children that attend public municipal schools of child education as well as, in order to determine the relation among those and children’s nutritional status. The study has been carried out by analyzing and comparing rural families in Novo Cruzeiro, MG, urban families in Piracicaba-SP and migrant families (rural-urban). No significant difference has been stated concerning the existence of a backyard among the families of the different groups. Therefore, it has been stated that families in Novo Cruzeiro use their backyards differently from that ones in Piracicaba. There has been no evidence about the association of the use of the backyard and nutritional status. However, cases of overweight and obesity have been reported among pre-scholars dwelling in Piracicaba but not those dwelling in Novo Cruzeiro.

mciencia@unicamp.br

october 2005