Causes Of Malnutrition
As there are many different types of malnutrition, there are of course many different things, which contribute and lead to malnutrition.
From a very close in perspective, malnutrition is of course caused by an inadequate or unbalanced diet. So what exactly are the children of Guatemala missing in their diet? While many people are at a normal weight or are overweight and starvation does not seem to be a huge issue, many children and many adults are malnourished. In fact, in Guatemala, over half of children under the age of five are chronically malnourished (US AID). The typical diet is composed mostly of starches: bananas, plantains, tortillas, rice, and beans. Meat, fruit, vegetables, and dairy products are not as commonly found in day-to-day meals.
While the emphasis on starches may in part be due to culture, it is clear that this is also because starches are in general much cheaper than meats and fresh produce. One of the main reasons that the people of Guatemala have such a high percentage of people suffering from malnutrition is the expense of food in areas of poverty. As a student at Notre Dame coming from a privileged family, I myself had never needed to choose whether to fill my stomach or to have lesser portions of more high nutrient foods. However, in Guatemala I soon became very aware that these were decisions many households and families made on a daily basis. Even my home stay family, whom were far from impoverished, constantly worried about food prices. While in this home stay family we were given plenty fruit and cooked vegetables, however there were small to no portions of meat at meals, due to its high prices. After a few weeks I began to feel extremely tired. Luckily, Mariana who had been a vegetarian at one point in her life, knew that this new found exhaustion was due to a lack of protein. I quickly went out and bought some protein bars to supplement my breakfast which helped tremendously, but it made me realize that if high food prices were affecting my well-off homestay family, those families in the Common Hope program must be affected exponentially more!
Besides poverty and high prices, families who can occasionally afford proteins and other nutritious foods don’t always understand the importance of providing proper nutrition to pregnant mothers and young children. In a study focused on intra-household food distribution in Guatemalan families it was found that a Contribution Rule (which states that the members of the family contributing most at the current moment to the family will receive a greater percentage of the family’s food) was almost always followed (Engle et al). In Guatemala this usually means that adult male breadwinners will have a greater chance of receiving proper nutrients while pregnant mothers and infants will have a much lower chance. Additionally, it is important to note that a targeted individual will not receive 30 to 60% of food supplements given his or her family; “instead, the food goes to others within or outside the family through sharing, selling or substitution for the regular diet” (Engle et al).
From a very close in perspective, malnutrition is of course caused by an inadequate or unbalanced diet. So what exactly are the children of Guatemala missing in their diet? While many people are at a normal weight or are overweight and starvation does not seem to be a huge issue, many children and many adults are malnourished. In fact, in Guatemala, over half of children under the age of five are chronically malnourished (US AID). The typical diet is composed mostly of starches: bananas, plantains, tortillas, rice, and beans. Meat, fruit, vegetables, and dairy products are not as commonly found in day-to-day meals.
While the emphasis on starches may in part be due to culture, it is clear that this is also because starches are in general much cheaper than meats and fresh produce. One of the main reasons that the people of Guatemala have such a high percentage of people suffering from malnutrition is the expense of food in areas of poverty. As a student at Notre Dame coming from a privileged family, I myself had never needed to choose whether to fill my stomach or to have lesser portions of more high nutrient foods. However, in Guatemala I soon became very aware that these were decisions many households and families made on a daily basis. Even my home stay family, whom were far from impoverished, constantly worried about food prices. While in this home stay family we were given plenty fruit and cooked vegetables, however there were small to no portions of meat at meals, due to its high prices. After a few weeks I began to feel extremely tired. Luckily, Mariana who had been a vegetarian at one point in her life, knew that this new found exhaustion was due to a lack of protein. I quickly went out and bought some protein bars to supplement my breakfast which helped tremendously, but it made me realize that if high food prices were affecting my well-off homestay family, those families in the Common Hope program must be affected exponentially more!
Besides poverty and high prices, families who can occasionally afford proteins and other nutritious foods don’t always understand the importance of providing proper nutrition to pregnant mothers and young children. In a study focused on intra-household food distribution in Guatemalan families it was found that a Contribution Rule (which states that the members of the family contributing most at the current moment to the family will receive a greater percentage of the family’s food) was almost always followed (Engle et al). In Guatemala this usually means that adult male breadwinners will have a greater chance of receiving proper nutrients while pregnant mothers and infants will have a much lower chance. Additionally, it is important to note that a targeted individual will not receive 30 to 60% of food supplements given his or her family; “instead, the food goes to others within or outside the family through sharing, selling or substitution for the regular diet” (Engle et al).