Sot. Sci. Med. Vol. 33. No. 10, pp. 1135-1140, 1991 0277-9536/91 $3.00 + 0.00 Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved copyright f$ 1991 Pergamon Press plc HOUSEHOLD SIZE, FOOD INTAKE AND ANTHROPOMETRIC STATUS OF SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN IN A HIGHLAND MEXICAN AREA zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcb GRETEL H. PELTO,’ JOCELYNURGELLO,~ LINDSAY H. ALLEN,’ ADOLFO CHAVEZ,’ HOMERO MARTINEZ,~ LUZMARIA MENESES,’ CONSTANCE CAPACCHIONE’ and JEFFREYBACKSTRAND’ ‘Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storm, CT 06268, U.S.A., *Visayas State College of Agricultural, Visayas, Philippines and )Division de Nutrition de la Communidad, Instituto National de la Nutrition Salvador Zubirin. Mexico Abstract-Large household size is widely regarded as a risk factor for malnutrition in developing countries, particularly for infants and young children. This study examines the extent to which household size is related to nutritional status in school-age children in the Solis Valley in highland Mexico. The relationships of food intake, anthropometric measures, and household size are assessed in a sample of 110 children (7-9 years of age), who were followed longitudinally for a minimum of one year as part of the Collaborative Research Support Program on Food Intake and Human Function. Diets in the valley are characterized by very low intake of animal food products and are heavily dependent on maize, which is primarily home-produced. Growth faltering is pervasive; the mean Z score for height-for-age in the sample is - 1.6 of the NCHS reference standard. Children from larger households are significantly shorter and consume diets of poorer quality, as assessed by intake of foods from animal sources. These relationships remain statistically significant in regression analyses that control for household economic status. It therefore appears that the resources available to households in the Solis Valley are inadequate to buffer children in even more advantaged households from the stresses of maintaining large families. Key words-household size, nutritional status, growth INTRODUCIION This paper examines the relationship of household size to food intake and anthropometric status of seven to nine year old children in a highland Mexican region [l]. The population of the Solis Valley is marked by pervasive mild to moderate malnutrition and is thus similar to many communities in the developing world. The assaults on health and devel- opment experienced by children in such regions occur primarily in infancy and early childhood. The pur- pose of this analysis is to assess the extent to which nutritional status indicators are related to household demographic features, particularly household size, among children who have survived the earlier threats to health. It has been widely suggested that the household should be a primary focus for nutrition research and intervention programs [2-S]. This position is based on a set of assumptions about the relationship of nutri- tional status of individuals to the households of which they are a part. The main underlying assump- tions include the following: [I] the household is the primary unit for the production or acquisition of food; [2] food preparation and distribution occurs mainly within the household, and the proportion of food consumed by individuals outside of this unit is relatively small in comparison with the amounts that are provided within the unit; [3] child care, especially feeding, is the responsibility of the house- hold, even when children are outside of the house- hold for periods of time during the day; [4] similarly, the management of illness in children, which has significant relationships to nutritional status, also falls mainly to the household, usually the mother. If these assumptions are correct, it follows that differences in household characteristics within com- munities should be associated with differences in nutritional status because the household activities outlined above will vary as a function of house- hold features. From a theoretical perspective there are a number of household characteristics that could be involved in the acquisition and distribution of food and in child care management. For example, under the general rubric of ‘economic status’ alone a number of factors are likely to be involved, including (1) economic resources (e.g. land, labor, income generating potential; (2) stability of resources over time; and (3) allocation of income to food vs other expenditures. The organization of child care involves another set of factors, including maternal work re- sponsibilities and time allocation, the presence of alternative caretakers, the number of young children in the household, and so on. The health status of household members, adults and children, is also likely to have both direct and indirect effects on food acquisition, preparation and distribution as well as effects on child care. The structure of beliefs within the household, including food preferences and aver- sions, beliefs about the qualities of foods, perceptions about what individuals require, and perceptions about illness and health maintenance are all likely to influence household food management and its consequences in nutrient intake. Therefore, a sub- stantial array of potentially significant factors can be postulated. 1135