Nutrition of aboriginal infants and children in the Murray Valley.

A cross-sectional anthropometric study of 297 Aboriginal children aged from 0 to 11 years, from four communities in the Murray Valley region of north-western Victoria and south-western New South Wales, revealed significant levels of growth retardation compared with 146 local non-Aboriginal children. Mild, moderate and severe levels of malnutrition (according to anthropometric criteria) and high proportions of infants who were small for gestational age were found among the Aboriginal children. Levels of moderate malnutrition varied from 11% to 26% according to the standards of housing, the degree of community organization and the social pressures that were experienced by each community. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of Aboriginal participation in primary health care.