Malnutrition, Wealth, and Development

Abstract

The results of 3 studies are used to show that simultaneous improvements in income, housing and education are essential before malnutrition can be eliminated. Results of a study in Libya showed that the marasmic infant there was frequently the youngest in a large family whose parents were first-cousins. The family recieved an average total income, but because of the family size, income per head was low. Housing conditions, though crowded, were generally good by the standards of developing countries. The mother was often illiterate, breast fed for only a short time and used supplementary foods early. In a study of Caribbean children whose families were generally poorer than those in the Middle East, length of breast feeding and age at which it ceased (severage) were also important factors. Multiple regression analysis showed that 4 major factors affect nutritional state: age of severage, whether the child had previously been in hospital for malnutrition, general living conditions and number of siblings. In a study of 198 Saudi-Arabian children, 36% were mildly to moderately malnourished according to the Gomez classification in spite of a high income. Duration of breast feeding did not seem to be as significant a predictive factor of malnutrition, possibly because breast feeding for about 1 year was the traditional way of feeding infants.