Female Nutritional Status across the Life-Span in Sub-Saharan Africa. 2. Causes and Consequences

Abstract

This article reviews existing data concerning the causes and consequences of female malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa. As in most parts of the world, the primary cause of female malnutrition is household food insecurity compounded by low household and individual incomes. Gender-specific factors that further undermine women's nutritional status are the severe physiological burden of frequent child-bearing and the continuous long hours of energy-intensive work. Negative consequences of malnutrition among females include high rates of mortality and morbidity, impaired learning, low birthweights, and reduced energy for discretionary activities. We question the conclusion of other studies that African women have developed special “adaptive mechanisms” to compensate for nutritional deprivation, and recommend that further research investigate the hidden individual and societal costs of malnutrition among women.

Relative contributions of the correlates of stunting in explaining the mean length-for-age z-score difference between 24-month-old stunted and non-stunted children living in a slum of Dhaka, Bangladesh: results from a decomposition analysis

“…Similar results were found from East African herders where parental investments were biased for their female children 40. On the contrary, studies also reported that in sub-Saharan areas, daughters faced a gender-biased dietary discrimination that was in favour of boys 41. A cross-sectional analysis done in Bangladesh, Nepal and India documented that parental preference toward son might affect child undernutrition in this region 42.…”

Female Nutritional Status across the Life-Span in Sub-Saharan Africa. 1. Prevalence Patterns

“…The cut-off point for the definition of stunting used by the ACC/SCN is 145 cm, which is quite conservative. (As is discussed in our companion paper in this issue [6], increased obstetrical risk has been associated with short stature even at heights well above 145 cm). When this cut-off point was used, fewer than 5% of women in sub-Saharan Africa were classified as stunted, compared with more than 15% in Middle America and Asia (excluding China), and about 12% in South America.…”

“…However, small-scale studies from a few countries have found evidence of discrimination against or disadvantage experienced by females in breastfeeding and dietary patterns, and the lack of attention to gender differences in much of the work that has been done on the nutritional problems of sub-Saharan Africa means that no firm conclusion can be reached about the relative nutritional status of males and females. The companion article [6] explores evidence concerning the determinants and consequences of the nutritional status of girls and women in sub-Saharan Africa.…”

Nutritional Status of Rural Women in Relation to their Participation in Mixed Farming in the Tafresh Area of Iran

“…It can serve as an indicator of health risk. Leslie et al [3] found that women with BMI in the normal range are able to spend more time in work-related activities, including home production. The data presented in table 5 show some selected anthropometric measurements of the women.…”

“…By contrast, nutritional deficiencies have negative effects on women's capacity for physical work. Some studies have shown that a woman's physical capacity for work is a major determinant of her own and her family's nutritional well-being [3]. Because of the importance of food availability and food habits and their impact on the productivity of women Nutritional status of rural women in relation to their participation in mixed farming in the Tafresh area of Iran in mixed farming, the present study was conducted to study the nutritional status of rural women, their daily time allocation and energy expenditure patterns, and the relationship between their nutritional status and their participation in mixed farming.…”