Seasonal Undernutrition in Rural Ethiopia: Magnitude, Correlates, and Functional Significance

Abstract

427Consecuencias de la desnutrición en el escolar peruano. Ernesto Pollitt. Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, Lima, Peru, 2001. (ISBN 9972-42-452-9) 417 pages, paperback.The author of this book, Ernesto Pollitt, has contributed more than any single person to our understanding of the relations among nutrition, cognition, and school performance. The book is comprehensive, authoritative, clearly written, well illustrated, and carefully documented. It reviews the factors that determine the effectiveness of the educational system of a country and the evidence for the critical importance of good nutrition during pregnancy, preschool years, and school years. Peru is the example, but the implications and applications are universal.Its key chapter on the effect of nutrient deficiencies on intellectual function and development reflects the author's research experience, objectivity, and critical judgment. The confounding effects of social status and poverty are well covered. Other chapters deal specifically with the factors responsible for protein-calorie malnutrition and its effects on intellectual development and educational achievement, poverty as a moderating factor on intellectual function, and the long-term consequences of retarded intrauterine growth.Spanish-speaking readers are fortunate to have available this unique and outstanding treatise on the relations among nutrition, cognition, and education.

Fragile Environment, Seasonality and Maternal and Childhood Undernutrition in Bangladesh

“…Previous studies on the association between food seasonality and the nutritional status of adults and children have reported inconsistent findings. In a study conducted in Ethiopia, children registered better WHZ scores in a period before harvest compared with a period after harvest, while the pattern observed for adults was as expecteda higher average BMI was reported in the season of plenty and a lower average BMI in the lean season (Ferro-Luzzi et al, 2002). On the other hand, a Kenyan study did not find significant seasonal differences in children's mean weight changes, but the percentage of children stunted was higher during the lean season (51%) compared with the post-harvest months (28%) (Kigutha et al, 1995).…”

How important are community characteristics in influencing children׳s nutritional status? Evidence from Malawi population-based household and community surveys

“…It is therefore possible that although during the wet season there is less maize (the staple food) and other agricultural produce, the abundance of fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin A and C that naturally grow with the rains could be supporting the nutritional needs of children in Malawi and contributing to the relatively better nutritional status of children during this season. Other studies on seasonality of child nutritional status have shown that busy harvesting times could result in reduced child care (Huffman et al, 1980) which may impact on a child's nutritional status (Mebrahtu et al, 1995) and that seasonal child nutritional status may follow a pattern of seasonal child morbidity and not necessarily seasonal food availability (Ferro-Luzzi et al, 2001;Panter-Brick, 1997;Rowland et al, 1977).…”

Economic dependence on forest resources: A case from Dendi District, Ethiopia

“…Barley, teff, enset, wheat, vegetables, pulses, and maize are the main crops grown in order of economic importance. The "false banana" enset (Ensete ventricosum) is important as an energy source to smooth out consumption fluctuations (Ferro-Luzzi et al, 2001). Teff serves both as a subsistence and cash crop.…”