Abstract
It has been widely argued that children and females are most severely affected during periods of food scarcity. This proposition is tested using dietary and anthropometric data from the Andean community of Nuñoa, Peru. Contrary to expectation, children (ages 12 years and under) are relatively protected from seasonal food scarcity while adults experience severe caloric stress. Anthropometric measures of nutritional status corroborate the dietary analysis, indicating significantly better nutritional status in children. Sex differences in dietary adequacy are not evident. Adult males, however, have significantly poorer measures of nutritional status than adult females. These differences in dietary adequacy and nutritional status reflect adaptations to marked seasonality in work demands and energy availability.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Basu, A., Roy, S. K., Mukhopadhyay, B., Bharati, P., Gupta, R., and Majumber, P. P. (1986). Sex bias in intrahousehold food distribution: Roles of ethnicity and socioeconomic characteristics.Current Anthropology 27: 536–539.
Benefice, E. S., Chevassus, A., and Barral, H. (1984). Nutritional situation and seasonal variations for pastoralist populations of the Sehel (Senegalese Ferlo).Ecology of Food and Nutrition 14: 229–247.
Brahmam, G. N. V., and Sastry, J. G., and Rao, N. P. (1988). Intra-family distribution of energy-an Indian experience.Ecology of Food and Nutrition 22: 125–130.
Carey, J. W. (1988). Health, Social Support and Social Networks in a Rural Andean Community of Southern Peru. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Chen, L. C., Chowdhury, K. M. A., and Huffman, S. L. (1979). Seasonal dimensions of energy-protein malnutrition in rural Bangladesh: The role of agriculture, dietary practices and infections.Ecology of Food and Nutrition 8: 175–187.
Chen, L. C., Huq, E., and D'Souza, S. (1981). Sex bias in the family allocation of food and health care in rural Bangladesh.Population Development Review 7: 55–70.
Collazos, C., White, P. H., White, H. S., Viñas, E., Alvistur, E., Uriqueta, R., Vasquez, J., Dias, C., Quiroz, A., Roca, A., Hegsted, D. M., Herrera, N., Fachin, A., Robles, N., Hernandes, E., and Bradfield, R. B. (1975).La Composition de los Alimentos Peuanos (Quinta Ed.) Ministerio de Salud, Lima.
de Garine, I., and Harrison, G. A. (eds.) (1988).Coping with Uncertainty in Food Supply. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
den Hartog, A. P. (1972). Unequal distribution of food within the household.Nutrition Newsletter 10: 8–17.
Edmundson, W. C., and Edmundson, S. A. (1988). Food intake and world allocation of male and female farmers in an impoverished Indian village.British Journal of Nutrition 60: 433–439.
Ferro-Luzzi, A. (ed.) (1990). Biology of adaptation to seasonal cycling of energy intake.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 44(Suppl. 1): 1–125.
Frisancho, A. R. (1969). Human Growth, Physique and Pulmonary Function at High Altitude: A Field Study of a Peruvian Quechua Population. Ph.D. dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.
Frisancho, A. R. (1981).Human Adaptation: A Functional Interpretation. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.
Frisancho, A. R. (1990).Anthropometric Standards for the Assessment of Growth and Nutritional Status. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.
Frisancho, A. R., and Bakter, P. T. (1970). Altitude and growth: A study of the patterns of physical growth of a high altitude Quechua population.American Journal of Physical Anthropology 32: 279–292.
Galvin, K. (1985). Food Procurement, Diet, Activities, and Nutrition of the Ngisonyoka Turkana Pastoralists in an Ecological and Social Context. Ph.D. dissertation, State University of New York, Binghamton.
Graham, M. A. (1987). Seasonal variation and hunger in Andean households.American Anthropological Association Abstracts 1987: 183.
Gross, D. R., and Underwood, B. A. (1971). Technological change and caloric costs: Sisal agriculture in northeastern Brazil.American Anthropologist 73: 725–740.
Guillet, D. (1983). Toward a cultural ecology of mountains: The central Andes and the Himalayas compared.Current Anthropology 24: 561–574.
Huss-Ashmore, R. (ed.) (1988). Coping with seasonal constraints.MASCA Research Papers 5: 1–141.
Leatherman, T. L. (1987). Illness, Work and Social Relations in the Southern Peruvian Highlands. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Leonard, W. R. (1987). Nutritional Adaptation and Dietary Change in the Southern Peruvian Andes. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Leonard, W. R. (1988). Nutritional strategies in the rural Andes and their impact on growth, development and mortality.Homo 39: 65–78.
Leonard, W. R. (1989). Protection of children from seasonal nutritional stress in an Andean agricultural community.European Journal of Nutrition 43: 597–602.
Leonard, W. R., and Thomas, R. B. (1988). Changing dietary pattern in the Peruvian Andes.Ecology of Food and Nutrition 21: 245–263.
Leonard, W. R., and Thomas, R. B. (1989). Biosocial responses to seasonal food stress in highland Peru.Human Biology 61: 65–85.
Leonard, W. R., Leatherman, T. L., Carey, J. W., and Thomas, R. B. (1990). Contributions of nutrition versus hypoxia to growth in rural Andean populations.American Journal of Human Biology 2: 613–626.
Leslie, P. W., Bindon, J. R., and Baker, P. T. (1984). Caloric requirements of human populations: A model.Human Ecology 12: 137–162.
Maclachlan, M. D. (1983).Why They Did Not Starve. ISHI, Philadelphia.
Masuda, S., Shimada, I., and Morris, C. (eds.) (1985).Andean Ecology and Civilization. University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo.
Ministerio de Prevision Social y Salud Pública (1979).Tabla de Composition de los Alimentos Bolivianos. Instituto Nacional de Laboratorios de Salud, La Paz.
Nelson, M. (1986). The distribution of nutrient intake within families.British Journal of Nutrition 55: 267–277.
Richards, A. (1939).Land, Labour, and Diet in Northern Rhodesia: An Economic Study of the Bemba Tribe. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Rosetta, L. (1986). Sex differences in seasonal variations of the nutritional status of Serere adults in Senegal.Ecology of Food and Nutrition 18: 231–244.
Shofield, S. (1974). Seasonal factors affecting nutrition in different age groups and especially pre-school children.Journal of Development Studies 11: 22–40.
Spurr, G. B. (1984). Physical activity, nutritional status, and physical work capacity in relation to agricultural productivity. In Pollitt, E., and Amante, P. (eds.),Energy Intake and Activity. Alan R. Liss, New York, pp. 207–261.
Stini, W. A. (1972). Reduced sexual dimorphism in upper arm muscle circumference associated with protein-deficient diet in a South American population.American Journal of Physical Anthropology 36: 341–352.
Stini, W. A. (1975). Adaptive strategies of human populations under nutritional stress. In Watts, E. S., Johnston, F. E., and Lasker, G. W. (eds.),Biosocial Interrelations in Population Adaptation. Mouton, The Hague, pp. 19–41.
Stini, W. A. (1988). Biocultural strategies for coping with drought. In Huss-Ashmore, R. (ed.),Coping with Seasonal Constraints. MASCA Research Papers, Vol. 5, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, pp. 21–28.
Thomas, R. B. (1973). Human adaptation to a high Andean energy flow system.Occasional Papers in Anthropology No. 7. Pennsylvania State University, University Park.
Thomas, R. B. (1976). Energy flow at high altitude. In Baker, P. T., and Little, M. A. (eds.),Man in the Andes. Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, pp. 379–404.
Thomas, R. B. (1979). Effects of change on high mountain adaptive patterns. In Webber, P. J. (ed.),High-Altitude Geoecology. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, pp. 139–188.
Thomas, R. B., and Winterhalder, B. P. (1976). Physical and biolic environment of southern highland Peru. In Baker, P. T., and Little, M. A. (eds.),Man in the Andes. Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, pp. 21–59.
Thomas, R. B., Leatherman, T. L., Carey, J. W., and Haas, J. D. (1988). Biosocial consequences of illness among small scale farmers: A research design. In: Collins, K. J., and Roberts, D. F. (eds.),Capacity for Work in the Tropics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 249–276.
Torún, B. (1984). Physiological measurements of physical activity among children living under free-living conditions. In Pollitt, E., and Amante, P. (eds.),Energy Intake and Activity. Alan R. Liss, New York, pp. 159–184.
Tucker, C. M. (1987). The Contributions of Children to Household Production in an Andean Community. M. A. thesis, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Werge, R. W. (1979). Potato processing in the central highlands of Peru.Ecology of Food and Nutrition 7: 229–234.
Wheeler, E. F., and Abdullah, M. (1988). Food allocation within the family: Response to fluctuating food supply and food needs. In de Garine, I., and Harrison, G. A. (eds.),Coping with Uncertainty in Food Supply. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 437–451.
Wu Leung, W-T., and Flores, M. (1961).Food Composition Tables for Use in Latin America. National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Leonard, W.R. Age and sex differences in the impact of seasonal energy stress among Andean agriculturalists. Hum Ecol 19, 351–368 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00888982
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00888982