NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND RISK FACTORS IN CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE

Malnutrition in Ecuador, as in the Region of the Americas, continues to be a public health problem and is the most important nutritional deficiency in the child population of non-industrialised countries, being more frequent in early childhood, a period in which it contributes to a large extent to the high morbidity and mortality rates. According to statistics in Ecuador, the family economy has improved in recent years, even so, poverty data are alarming and malnutrition rates at the national level are high in rural and indigenous areas. In this research work the general objective is to determine the nutritional status and risk factors in children under 5 years of age treated at the José Garcés Rodríguez Hospital in Salinas Canton, Province of Santa Elena"; in the period from June 2015 to June 2016.