Cultural change, growth and feeding of children in an isolated rural region of Yemen.
This paper reports a study on the growth and feeding patterns of children from an isolated region of North Yemen. Marasmus was extremely common and was associated with poor infant feeding practices--particularly the widespread use of bottled milk--and frequent infections. Despite the appearance of a homogeneous traditional society, there were significant differences in the growth of children from adjacent areas. Children from a small township serving as the administrative centre of the region grew more poorly and had a higher mortality than those from the immediate rural hinterland. While poorer living conditions and more frequent infections may explain much of the worse growth and higher mortality of the township children, it is likely less adequate patterns of feeding, particularly greater use of artificial milk, also contribute significantly to the observed difference in growth. Despite the remote rural setting of the study, feeding patterns and growth may be influenced by a number of social factors associated with 'urbanisation'.
D000069:Acculturation; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006128:Growth; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food; D007239:Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D011203:Poverty; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012423:Rural Health; D015006:Yemen