Malnutrition Rates in Chile from the Nitrate Era to the 1990s

Abstract

Following Salvatore and the WHO, in this article, we provide the first long-term estimates of malnutrition rates for Chile per birth cohort, measured through stunting rates of adult males born from the 1870s to the 1990s. We used a large sample of military records, representative of the whole Chilean population, totalling over 38 thousand individuals. Our data suggest that stunting rates were very high for those born between the last three decades of the nineteenth century and the first two decades of the twentieth century. In addition, stunting rates increased from the 1870s to the 1900s. Thereafter, there was a clear downward trend in stunting rates (despite some fluctuations), reaching low levels of malnutrition, in particular, from the 1960s (although these are high if compared to developed countries). The continuous decrease in stunting rates from the 1910s was mainly due to a combination of factors, the importance of which varied over time, namely: Improved health (i.e., sharp decline in infant mortality rates during the whole period); increased energy consumption (from the 1930s onwards, but most importantly during the 1990s); a decline in poverty rates (in particular, between the 1930s and the 1970s); and a reduction in child labour (although we are less able to quantify this).

backbone of Latin America: recent developments and new directions in anthropometric history

“…The prices of milk and meat declined as partly the result of substantial economic changes such as Chile joining the international agribusiness revolution and having government support in social spending from the 1930s to the 1960s; there was increasing GDP per capita and macro-economic stability and trade liberalization (Llorca-Jaña et al, 2020b). Moving more to long-term studies for the twentieth century and following up on this successful nu-trition transition, there is an estimation for male heights in the twentieth century; the finding is that there was a 5.5 cm increase in height primarily during the second half of the twentieth century (Llorca-Jaña et al, 2021b) There is also a study on demographic transition in twentieth-century Chile. (Llorca-Jaña et al 2021c) The sharp decline in adult and infant mortality started in the 1930s and continued until the 1990s.…”

Conmemorando los cincuenta años de Leche Purita: importancia de la leche en la erradicación de la desnutrición infantil en Chile

“…En Chile, la leche ha sido parte fundamental de las políticas públicas desde comienzos del siglo XX (ver Figura 1). De acuerdo con registros históricos de estatura, para comienzos del siglo XX la tasa de malnutrición moderada a severa en niños (datos registrados sólo de hombres) alcanzaba el 15 -19%, lo cual era acompañado de una elevada mortalidad infantil (323 por cada 1000 nacidos vivos en la década de 1900) 28 . Es en este contexto que surgen las primeras iniciativas de alimentación complementaria, financiando mediante beneficencia la apertura de dispensarios por parte del Patronato Nacional de la Infancia (1901), los que posteriormente son reemplazados por las "Gotas de Leche" (1906).…”

“…Durante esta década, la tasa de mortalidad infantil empezó a declinar notablemente 14 , seguida por una significativa disminución en el retraso del crecimiento a partir de 1940. Estos cambios se atribuyen al incremento en el consumo de leche, especialmente entre los segmentos de ingresos más bajos, impulsado por políticas que fomentaron su consumo y la provisión resultante de las iniciativas previamente mencionadas 28 .…”

“…Sin embargo, entre 1960 y 1980, la mortalidad infantil en Chile experimentó un descenso acelerado, a pesar del bajo crecimiento económico, la pronunciada desigualdad de ingresos y la reducción del gasto social. Este notable progreso se atribuye principalmente a la focalización de recursos en los estratos de menores ingresos 28 .…”

Spatial and Machine Learning Approach to Model Childhood Stunting in Pakistan: Role of Socio-Economic and Environmental Factors

“…Literate households avoid seeking health-related consultations from traditional health healers. A long-term 150-year study of malnutrition in Chile based on stunting rates from military registers [ 19 ] indicated that the problem decreased when health improved, energy consumption increased, poverty declined, and child labour was limited.…”