Nutritional anthropology applies the anthropological approach to nutritional disciplines by studying and understanding how the interactions of social and biological factors affect the nutritional status of individuals and populations. Dettwlyer conducted a medical anthropological research assessing the nutritional status of individuals living in a population in Mali, Africa. She defined it as to be a biocultural approach because the research did not only pertain to the biological system of the people but cultural dogmas, infant feeding practices, socio-economic status, political-ecological factors also contributed as much. Death rates and child malnutrition rates are very high in Mali, it being one of the poorest countries of the world. Therefore, Dettwlyer being a nutritional anthropologist extends her study to the children of Mali who are malnutritioned as a result of their birth in poor families; because their mothers have a low status in their prosperous extended family households; ethno-cultural tenets, etc.
Dettwyler performed three case studies of seven children who were from poor families. The first case study was on fraternal twins, a boy named Al-Hassane and a girl named Assanatu. They were under weight. Jeneba breastfed her children but sometimes she gave them formula because breastmilk was insufficient for her children. Jeneba’s first husband died; so remarried to a widower who was an airport employee as and he stopped providing money. The children from her husband’s first marriage did not support her in the thousehold chores and in taking care of Al-Hassane and Assanatu. So she started saying sick and as a result her children would loose weight and become prone to fever, diarrhea, etc. She couldn’t...
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...oncludes that biological factors, poverty, cultural beliefs, socio-economic status, ecological factors etc., interweave with each other and assess the nutritional status of individuals in a population. Dettwyler achieves good case studies as she presents good ethnographic fieldwork where she herself was observing and experiencing the life within the Malian population. She provides vivid details of her data and observations thus spurring her biocultural approach. Dettwyler observed only those children who were born malnourished and died due to some illness or disease. She took the rural side of Mali which encompassed orthodox society and its beliefs but could have taken the urban and positive side of Mali by extending her study on children who were born healthy; then studied and analyzed their nutritional status and then compared it with that of rural Mali children.
World hunger is a very important epidemic because of the risks or implications it imposes on the rest of the world. Juveniles are the utmost apparent victims of under-nutrition. 2.6 million children die as a result of hunger-related causes each year. 66 million school-aged children go to classes hungry across the developing world, with 23 million in Africa alone. One in four of the world's youth are kept from growing due to malnutrition. In developing countries the proportion can rise to one in three. A strong maternal-infant bond provided through psychosocial stimulation is essential for positive child development. The formation of this bond at the beginning of life is an essential step that sets the stage for cognitive,emotional, and social development later in life. Feeding and other care practices provide opportunities for psychosocial stimulation and help to establish a positive attachment between caregiver and child.(WHO) Under-nutrition magnifies the effect of every disease, such as measles,diarrhea and malaria. Asia has the largest number of hungry people (over 500 million) however S...
Throughout Katherine Dettwyler's Dancing Skeletons she describes her experiences, observations, and research in Mali. Amongst her writing she discusses the different health problems associated with the citizens, specifically children and women. After reading, I was able to gather new information on iodine deficiency and its effect on children, while also recollecting my thoughts and opinions on health and healthcare.
... becoming malnourished. Medically related subjects are effected by cultural in all areas on the world for the wide cultural diversity.
Nutritionism is an ideology that believes that the nutrients in foods are the key to understanding them. Nutritionism believers are so focused on the nutrients that food contains that they forget about all other aspects of food. The problem is that consumers rely on packaging to tell them what nutrients a food provides, since nutrients cannot be obviously seen, and they rely on science to tell us what nutrients are good and which are “evil”.
To achieve the goal of eradicating poverty and hunger requires multifactorial approach. This goal affects public health directly stimulating working towards decreasing extreme poverty and hunger. Public health service can provide direct impact, such as organizing food aid, help with clothes and medications for those who in great need. The food aid can be distributed through social centers and schools. Nutritional help in schools will be addressed to the children, who are the most vulnerable population in relation to food deficit. Social centers will provide additional food supply to the families and individuals who suffers from the lack of the food. Special attention has to be given to the pregnant women. Providing food aid to this population and promoting breastfeeding will result in a combination of direct and indirect impact for eradicating hunger and extreme poverty. Also food aid in schools will
Every weekday, I start my morning with a french-toast-bacon sandwich, fruit, and other items depending on what the dining hall is serving.
Known as the most widespread and most common nutritional disease in major developing countries Kwashiorkor is a very serious condition. The condition of Kwashiorkor is a form of malnutrition where a young child is not getting the protein they need in their diet, yet at the same time they are getting enough calories. It usually affects children between the ages of one to three, but studies show it can develop at any age ("Human nutrition in the developing world", n.d.). While the disease is rarely seen here in the United States and developing countries, it is a very dominant disease and very wide spread in sub-suburban Africa, Southeast Asia and Central America ("Human nutrition in the developing world", n.d.). When this disease does present itself in the United Stat...
Malnutrition is the lack of proper nutrition; it is caused by not having enough to eat, not eating enough of the right foods with the correct vitamins and nutrients, or not being able to absorb nutrients from foods being eaten. In the United States of America, malnutrition is not common due to not only the availability of modern medicine and knowledgeable doctors, but also because of government enforced laws of supplementation in certain common foods. Because of this, Americans typically overlook the widespread problem of malnutrition in developing countries. In parts of the world, such as West Africa, it is very common for most individuals in a community to be malnourished in some way. Because there are so many aspects of a healthy diet, it
Food insecurity and poor nutrition is an alarmingly large problem for low income families, especially in developing countries. Many strategies exist to fight this problem, although not many of these address all the factors contributing to it along with all the possible solutions to solve it. In many cases, multiple strategies must correlate and work together so that all the determinants of this issue are addressed and can fight food insecurity from different angles. This essay will discuss the significance of the problem, a range of possible strategies to solve the problem, and go into detail on a select few that will correlate and work together to solve different factors of food insecurity and poor nutrition.
Malnutrition is one of the biggest healthcare problems that I noticed while working in Swaziland. The lecture Dr. Pawelos gave really opened up my eyes to malnutrition, in kids especially, when we were out working in the field. Before traveling, I assumed that we would see malnutrition cases but I wasn’t aware of how many we’d see and how many different types of malnutrition we would encounter. There are several types of malnutrition, in general, but there are a few main types occurring in the kids that live in Swaziland. The different types of malnutrition are occurring due to the types of food available to the kids, and how many meals they are given a day. However, there are also steps being
Famine has struck parts of Africa several times during the 20th century, and to this day is still going strong. According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, the average African consumes 2300 kcal/day, less than the global average of 2700 kcal/day. Recent figures estimate that 316 million Africans, or approximately 35 percent of the continent's total population, is undernourished. Although hunger in Africa is hardly new, it now occurs in a world that has more than enough food to feed all its citizens. Moreover, while Africa's population is growing rapidly, it still has ample fertile land for growing food. Hunger therefore reflects not absolute food scarcity but rather people's lack of access to resources—whether at the individual, house-hold, comunity, or national leve that are needed to produce or purchase adequate food supplies. The reasons people cannot obtain enough food are: several different historical patterns of in equality. These patterns include the in equalities between Africa and its former colonisers or contemporary financiers, and between Africa's rich and poor. It also includes in equality between members of the same households, where food and the resources needed to obtain it (such as land and income) are often unevenly distributed between men and women, old and young. Whatever the reasons for food deprivation, when the result is malnutrition it can do damage, increasing diseases such as malaria, rickets, anemia, and perhaps acquired immune deficiency syndrome aka AIDS Mal-nourished children suffer stunted growth and, often, learning problems. Malnourished adults have less energy to work. Over the long term, inadequate nourishment can cast communities into a cycle o...
“Malnourished children are 20% less literate than those with a healthier diet, says UK charity Save the Children” (The Information Daily). When parents become victims of poverty it can have some very unpleasing long and short term effects to their children. Parents in poverty have a lot on their plate and buying the best quality food or affording enough food can be a tumultuous task. Quality nutrition is essential for the development of the brain. At a young age, poor nutrition or not enough nutrition can seriously hinder “the brain 's development, a child’s ability to learn and has a devastating impact on a child’s future”(The Information Daily). “Malnutrition in the early developmental stages of the brain, by restricting the children’s cognitive growth, can lower a child 's IQ has much has 20 points”(The Information Daily). Long term effects of malnutrition leave permanent damage to the brain, however, malnutrition has short term effects as well. Malnourishment can greatly compromise a child’s immune system, making them more susceptible to infectious diseases. “Low counts of zinc, iron and vitamin A are commonly associated with weakened immune function” (Orphan Nutrition). A deadly infection can have a huge impact on a poverty stricken family leading to less affordability. Malnutrition negatively affects a student throughout their educational
The lack of nutrition in developing countries can play a large role in the high infant and child mortality rate. If children do not get enough food when they are younger their growth can be damaged leaving them to be smaller. They will only grow to be smaller if they can win the game of survival. “The degree and distribution of protein–energy malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in a given population depends on many factors: the political and economic situation, the level of education and sanitation, the season and climate conditions, food production, cultural and religious food customs, breast-feeding habits, prevalence of infectious diseases, the existence and effectiveness of nutrition programs and the availability and quality of health services” (Muller & Krawinkel, 2005). There are many young children in Sub-Saharan Africa suffering from bloating due to the lack of protein in their diet. The lack of protein in their diet is also a probable factor in their slower growth rate into smaller sizes because you need protein to grow and strengthen you
Children have less nutritional reserves than adults and are more susceptible to malnutrition (Katona & Katona-Apte,
“Malnutrition is a major problem in developing countries, especially with the decrease of food supply and accordingly the increase of food prices all over the globe.” In a third world country people suffer from being malnourished every day because of the lack of proper nutrients the body needs. Almost all third world counties suffer from malnutrition. A third world country may suffer from social and economic problems such as: high birth rate, high fertility rates, high unemployment, etc. All of those factors mentioned play a role in a person becoming