Two different approaches to the evaluation of the impact of food supplementation given to malnourished children are assessed on the basis of the experience of a program undertaken in the county of Diadema, in the metropolitan area of S. Paulo, Brazil. The first approach - a traditional one - is based on the proportion of children that at the end of one year's participation in the program present no weight deficit (weight for age more than 90% of the expected value). The second approach - proposed in the article - takes into account only the rate of growth and accepts weight increments superior to those expected among well-nourished children as favorable. The advantages of this second approach are fully demonstrated.
Nutrition rehabilitation; Child, preschool; Evaluation; Weight age; Growth