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pubmed:otherAbstract |
PIP: Demography can play an important part in the diagnosis and improvement of the nutrition situation in Latin America. Applied population studies can provide diagnostic and evaluative frameworks, analytical indicators and indices, and a definition of the nature, size, and distribution of the target groups. Several models of relationships between population dynamics and economic development have recently been worked out, and the paper diagrams a conceptual framework that can be used to identify demographic data that are important in diagnosing nutritional situations. Another table lists selected sociodemographic indicators related to malnutrition in the areas of mortality, maternal and child health and nutrition, food consumption and child care, environmental sanitation and services, potential demand for food and services, and employment. Besides the advantages of being generally available through collection for other purposes, demographic information has the further advantages of focusing on family units, utilizing concepts that are basic and easily understood, allowing geographic breakdowns, and permitting expression in terms of trends and projections. 3 activities of the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP) demonstrate the usefulness of demographic information. A "demographic sourcebook for food and nutrition planning" for each of the countries provides for constant updating of locally available demographic information which is used in planning; a nutritional surveillance system under study or development in 5 countries aims to detect change and predict deterioration so that corrective measures can be taken; and a functional classification of malnutrition seeks to identify specific population subgroups in regions that are administratively, economically, and ecologically uniform for purposes of program planning.
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