Well child care: a comprehensive strategy for Cuban children and adolescents.

The notable rise in survival rates of Cuban children has presented new challenges in the search for continued improvement of their welfare and quality of life. These advances can be achieved only to the extent that preventive care and health promotion are also improved. This article describes the design of a strategy for comprehensive care of children and adolescents based on better quality of well child visits, defining visit components, age-specific activities for each visit, and guidelines for followup based on visit findings.

Excess weight and adiposity in children and adolescents in Havana, Cuba: prevalence and trends, 1972 to 2005.

Introduction: Rising prevalence of excess weight in children and adolescents is a serious public health problem in both developed and developing countries, associated with a growing burden of chronic non-communicable diseases in youth and adults. In Cuba, population-based growth and development surveys have been conducted since the 1970s, the latest in 2005.

Objective: Estimate prevalence of overweight, obesity and high adiposity in children and adolescents aged -19 years in Havana, Cuba, in 1972, 1993 and 2005, and describe secular trends in these conditions in the periods observed.

Dietary reference intakes for the cuban population, 2008.

Recommended dietary reference intakes (DRI) for energy and nutrients for the Cuban population were first established by the Nutrition and Food Hygiene Institute (INHA, its Spanish acronym) in 1996.[1] International organizations and Cuban public health research subsequently generated a considerable volume of new information on food-based energy and nutrient requirements,[2-4] resulting in the need for a revision. Updated DRIs were therefore compiled by a multidisciplinary group of specialists and published in 2008 by INHA and the Cuban Ministry of Public Health.

The nutrition transition in Cuba in the nineties: an overview.

Objective: To describe and analyse the changes in diet, physical activity and body composition of the Cuban population during the 1990s and the health implications of these changes.

Design And Setting: Data on national food balance and physical activity are from government agencies and the Ministry of Public Health; nation-wide and local representative surveys were used to analyse body composition and leisure activities. Data on morbidity and mortality are from the Ministry of Public Health.