Vigilância alimentar e nutricional em Alagoas: cobertura do SISVAN e prevalência do excesso de peso infantil antes e depois da pandemia de COVID-19

Abstract

Introduction: Food and Nutrition Surveillance involves the continuous assessment of the population's food and nutritional profile and is considered a fundamental action to monitor the nutritional status of children under 10 years of age. Brazil is among the countries most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Food and Nutrition Surveillance System is the tool for monitoring food and nutrition indicators capable of providing fundamental information for Public Health interventions. Objective: To assess the coverage of the Food and Nutrition Surveillance System and the prevalence of overweight in children under 10 years of age, before and after the Covid-19 pandemic, in all health regions that make up the state of Alagoas. Methods: An ecological study using information obtained from the Food and Nutrition Surveillance System for the years 2019 and 2023 for children under 10 years of age living in Alagoas. Descriptive analysis, central tendency measures, and graphical analysis of minimum and maximum values were performed. Additionally, a graphical analysis of the prevalence of overweight by age group and health regions was performed. The effect of time was assessed using the repeated measures ANOVA test (p<0.05). The Jamovi 2.3.2 and Microsoft Excel software were used. Results: All health regions saw an increase in SISVAN coverage in 2023, with most of them reaching 60% system coverage. Considering all age groups investigated, the prevalence of childhood overweight is high, approaching 20% in both periods analyzed. In general, there was a reduction in prevalence accompanied by an increase in SISVAN coverage in most health regions of the state. Conclusion: SISVAN showed a significant increase in coverage in all health regions of Alagoas. The prevalence of childhood overweight exceeded 10% in all regions analyzed. Time significantly influenced both indicators. Given this, it is worth reinforcing the strengthening of this monitoring, together with policies and actions to prevent and combat all forms of malnutrition in Alagoas.