The nutritional condition of a school population of an endemic goiter region has been studied in order to elucidate whether the low ponderal indexes found might be related directly to the goiter or they are the consequence of other factors. A total of 3,517 children in school age between 6 and 17 years old, born and living in Urubamba-Cusco, Peru, an ancestral region of endemic goiler were examined. The nutritional condition was evaluated using the indexes heigh/age (H/A), weight/age (W/A) and weight/height (W/H). Both for the nutritional study as well as for the measurement of the goiter size the criteria recommended by the WHO/PAHO were utilized. Reference standards for the National Center Health Statistic (NCHS) were used to evaluate the nutritional condition. Using the index H/A 49% children presented retardation of height for their age, range 44% (Urubamba) to 64% (Maras). About 35%...