The nutritional impact of seasonality in children and adults of rural Ethiopia.
A survey of the nutritional status of subsistence farmers was conducted over 13 months in a rural area of Ethiopia characterized by moderate climatic seasonality and intensive land exploitation. Bi-monthly questionnaires on food consumption, time allocation, agricultural production and cash flow were administered to 203 households and anthropometry performed on 1407 individuals. Comparison of post-harvest and pre-harvest anthropometry was made on 672 individuals (48% of the sample). In children, seasonal changes in the Z-score of weight-for-height were small and not significant. Height growth velocity showed instead a marked seasonal pattern, with values close to normal (-0.2 SD units) in July to December, a period characterized by better food availability, and lower values (-3.0 SD units) in January to June, a period characterized by intensive farm labour and heavy rains. Among the adults, body weight was highest in the post-harvest season (December) and decreased by 1.5 +/- 2.3 kg in men and 1.3 +/- 2.6 kg in women to the yearly minimum in the pre-harvest season (June). The paper shows that in this area children and adults both suffer from exposure to seasonal energy stress. The change in weight-for-height Z-score observed in children and the body weight loss observed in adults was greater in individuals of low socio-economic status and, within the same socio-economic level, in individuals with better nutritional status.
Branca
F
F
National Institute of Nutrition, Rome, Italy.
Pastore
G
G
Demissie
T
T
Ferro-Luzzi
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000383:Agriculture; D002648:Child; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D012423:Rural Health; D012621:Seasons; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors