Relationship between family land availability and nutritional status

Armed conflict and poverty in Central America: the convergence of epidemiology and human rights advocacy

Several armed conflicts took place in Central America during the last 3 decades of the 20th century. In this commentary, we discuss (1) studies describing the interrelationships among health, violence, and poverty during and after these conflicts and (2) some important lessons learned from these studies. We hope that those lessons help epidemiologists and others who must confront, and describe, similar situations elsewhere.

Growth rates of children of subsaharan African ancestry born to immigrant parents and of French children in Paris

This comparative survey is based on two populations of children born and raised in Paris or the Paris area: 320 French children and 129 children whose parents are both of African ancestry from the Subsaharan area. They are part of a first generation born outside of their respective countries. A longitudinal study of growth from birth to four years of age shows population differences. The length and weight at birth of full-term African babies are significantly less than of French newborns. But, African infants catch-up quickly and reach the same length as French infants during the first month of life; their weight is already significantly greater than that of French infants from 1 to 6 months. The body mass index (BMI, W/H² ) during the breast-feeding period indicates that the infants are of well nourished status. After the first year of life, the means for the BMI of the children born to Subsaharan immigrant parents are lower than means for French children. This suggests poorer nutritional status, which may be associated with the marginal socioeconomic status of African families living in the Paris area. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 10:757-763, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

[Nutritional status of children ten years of age or under in a settlement organized by the "Landless Peasants' Movement" in Porto Calvo, Alagoas, Brazil]

This study describes the nutritional status of 357 children (0-10 years) living in Fazenda Conceição, an area occupied by the "Landless Peasants' Movement" and recently expropriated for land reform purposes by the Brazilian National Institute for Land Settlement and Agrarian Reform. The prevalence of nutritional deficits (Z < -2 standard deviations from the NCHS median anthropometric standard) relating to body- weight-for-age, height-for-age, and body-weight-for-height were the following, respectively: 19.6%, 39.8%, and 2%, thus higher than the figures published recently for the rural areas of the State of Alagoas as a whole (8.4%, 22.7%, and 1.3%). These findings suggest that children are these affected by dwarfism. Despite this condition being widely acknowledged as one of the most visible manifestations of malnutrtion in developing countries, it is important to stress that the concentration of land tenure, an integral part of the income-concentrating development model adopted by Brazil, is also a major factor in determining such a health profile. There is thus an urgent need for policy-makers to reallocate resources for immediate intervention in such farm communities, in order to reduce the dire consequences of a situation of this magnitude.

Malnutrition and poverty in the early stages of famine: North Darfur, 1988-90

In this article we report findings on the relationship between malnutrition and poverty during a period of acute food insecurity in Darfur, Sudan. Children of rich and poor families were equally likely to be malnourished, which is explained in terms of people's responses to the threat of famine. This finding has important implications for targeting interventions in the early stages of famine. Appropriate interventions at the early stages of famine are livelihood and income support to the most vulnerable. The entitlement theory of famine causation assumes that the poor are most vulnerable, and become malnourished and die during famines. In this article we show that this assumption does not hold. Even though poverty is the root cause of malnutrition, it does not follow that anthropometric status can be used to target individual poor families, or even that targeting the poor is appropriate in famine situations.

The significance of socio-economic characteristics for adult seasonal body-weight fluctuations: a study in north-western Benin

Large variations in seasonal body-weight fluctuations have been described for individuals from different households living and working under comparable circumstances. In the present study the relationship between socio-economic household characteristics and seasonal body-weight fluctuations of individual members of rural Beninese households were studied. No significant correlation was found for body-weight fluctuation between the two study years, nor for body-weight fluctuation of men and women belonging to the same household. When comparing dichotomized socio-economic classes for relative body-weight fluctuation of men and women in both study years, no consistent trends were observed for both years nor for both sexes. The distribution of subjects with a consistent high weight fluctuation over the two study years did not differ between socio-economic groups. In conclusion it may be stated that there were no indications that socio-economic characteristics play a determining role in the magnitude of body-weight fluctuation of this study population, despite the large variations observed in the latter. Therefore it is most likely that other factors decide the weight fluctuations of individuals, health and sanitation being the most likely candidates.

Malnutrition and basic needs surveys in Thailand

Data on various socio-economic characteristics and the nutritional status of the population of the Province of Nakhon Rachasima had been collected in a basic human needs survey for the purpose of integrated rural development planning. The collected data represent the conditions of an entire province. An assessment of the correlations between various agricultural, socio-economic and sanitation parameters is made. Malnutrition of children under 5 years of age is correlated with some of the assessed parameters. But, the usefulness of general basic needs surveys for designing nutrition intervention projects is limited due to a lack of specific information on the points of leverage to bring about change in the nutritional status.

Socioeconomic variation in the growth status of children in a subsistence agricultural community

Socioeconomic variation in the growth status of 293 children, 6 through 13 years of age, from a rural subsistence agricultural community in southern Mexico was considered. Socioeconomic status was based on an index developed from landholdings, household goods, and occupation, and households were classified as high and low status. Growth measurements included weight, stature, sitting height, estimated leg length, arm and estimated arm muscle circumferences, triceps skinfold, and right gripping strength. The growth status of boys showed a clear socioeconomic differential, while that of girls did not. The results are consistent with the generalization that males are more influenced by environmental stresses than females, including, of course, the favorable stress of improved socioeconomic circumstances, even within seemingly single-class rural communities.

Land tenure patterns and child health in southern Brazil: the relationship between agricultural production, malnutrition and child mortality

The relationships between infant mortality, malnutrition, and land tenure patterns in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, were investigated with data from demographic and agricultural censuses, vital statistics, and dietary surveys, complemented by a large nutritional survey in urban and rural areas. These studies employed a variety of analytical methods and revealed that young children in areas with large ranches, livestock-raising, and a high proportion of agricultural wage-earners presented a higher mortality and had a poorer nutritional status than children in areas with small properties, crop agriculture, and self-employed family workers. Children of landowners showed least malnutrition and the smaller risk of death compared to children of laborers, although the differential seems to have narrowed in recent years. The main conclusion is that land tenure patterns play a very important role in determining early mortality and malnutrition in this Brazilian state.