Assessing nutritional status and vulnerability

1. Assessing nutritional status and vulnerability: in
Global Perspectives
By
L. Muralikrishnan,
Scientist,
Division of Agricultural Extension,
ICAR-IARI, New Delhi -12

2. Introduction
– Assessing and evaluating nutritional status has more complex ways particularly
with regard to vitamin and mineral deficiencies in the vulnerable developing
countries.
– The anthropometric measurements plays an excellent indication of the
nutritional status of vulnerable groups and individuals.
– The assessment has several levels of International, National, Regional and local
level to implement the need based Nutri - linked programmes.
– The nutritional assessment and surveillance systems in the vulnerable regions
vary depends on the market prices for food, indicators of agricultural
production and other livelihood systems, and morbidity and mortality data.

3. – Majorly the Nutritional and health status assessment with the support of using the data collected
by professional health workers in primary health centers, supportive units of primary health
centers, Anganwadies and nutritional centres and hospitals of public and private sector units
focused in rural and urban slum areas.
– The large scale nutritional assessment is possible by use sampling techniques, participatory
survey techniques designed to produce reliable regional and national estimates.
– The weight/height anthropometric measures are almost always included because they provide
very useful information at a relatively low cost.
– This is very useful to monitor the nutritional status and periodically assess the trends.
Cont..

4. Cont..
– The nutritional status assessment majorly focused on children, women and
adults. Majorly, These indicators are calculated with the support of the direct
measurement of a persons height and weight, followed by a comparison with
what is normal or acceptable for their sex and age.
– The comparison is especially important in the case of children under five, since
healthy children are still growing rapidly at this stage of their lives.

5. Sl.
No.
Anthropome
tric indicator
What it measures Contexts in which it is used
1. Children
Underweight Underweight (low weight for age)
represents both inadequate linear growth
and poor body proportions caused by
undernutrition
Underweight is the most common indicator collected in
growth monitoring systems
Stunting Stunting(low height for age) measures
long-term growth faltering as a result of
chronic undernutrition
Stunting is associated with poverty and may be assessed
in stable situations to measure changes over time
Wasting Wasting (low weight for height) as a result
of acute undernutrition
Wasting is the indicator most commonly assessed in
nutrition surveys in emergencies
2. Adults
Body mass index "Thinness" (low weight for height) as a
result of
undernutrition
It is of particular importance where adults may be
equally or more vulnerable to undernutrition than
children, for example in emergencies
Low birth weight Babies are measured, but this indicator is
associated with poor nutrition in mothers
It was used to measure changes in maternal malnutrition
over time. It is particularly important in Asian countries
where maternal undernutrition is common.
Table 1. Anthropometric indicators commonly used in nutritional surveillance systems

6. – Health and related socio-economic conditions are assessed alongside nutritional status,
as a basis for improving the planning and evaluation of sectoral investment programmes
– In developing and poorer countries with limited institutional capacity and budgetary
resources, international agencies (United States Agency for International Development
(USAID), United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and World Bank) assisting to the
particular governments in conducting macro level vulnerability surveys to assess the
nutrition, health and living Standards related measurement to solve the communities
health and nutrition related problems in the developing context.
– These data collection and analysis and interpretation requires clarity and
trustworthiness. It helps to find out the target oriented populations to formulate the
nutrient programmes to sole the problem in the developing context.
Macro level large-scale surveys

7. Cases studies 1.
– The fourth School censuses was conducted in Cost Rica in 1979 and its fifth census in 1989. The
data collected showed that stunting had fallen by 45 percent by 1985. This decline is believed
to be a valid indicator of improvements in quality of life and reductions in food insecurity in
Costa Rica during this period.
– It is contrasts with Panama, where the prevalence of stunting as measured through the school
census increased from 19 to 24 percent between 1985 and 1988. It reflected due to the socio-
political crisis and the internal rural-urban migration. Source: Food
and Nutrition Bulletin, 1991.

8. Nutrition surveillance mechanism:
– Through repeated small-scale surveys.
– Monitoring the growth level of improved nutrition.
– Assessing the importance to care the Children, Adolescent Women, Youth and
Women inbetween the programme duration
– The Participatory Rural Appraisal is one of the key rapid information collection
mechanism in particular locality to solve the problem with the support of Multi
disciplinary team of professionals.
– It supports the policy makers and extension agents to implement the need
specific nutritional and sustainable livelihood programmes.

9. Identification of problems to achieve the Food and
Nutrition security in the developing economy:
– Identification of need through getting answers to this questions of in
Who are the food-insecure?, Where are they located? and Why are they food-
insecure?.
– It supports to identify the vulnerable groups and the factors of vulnerability
such as resource poor small and marginal farming as a livelihood, patterns of
labour migration, patterns and social structures and population density, etc
– Ex: Seasonal migration of small-scale farmers seeking work as agricultural
labourers on large plantations has long been a characteristic livelihood system
for Guatemalas rural poor.

10. Options to achieve the Food and Nutrition security
in the developing economy:
– Designing microcredit programme to enhance their livelihood security and purchase power of the
poor community
– Diffusion and adoption of improved nutri – rich varieties.
– Development of micro or smallscale irrigation in suitable areas for improved production
– Promotion of agroforestry – horticulture based livelihood systems
– Introduction of improved postharvest technologies to cereals, fruits and vegetables.
– Promotion of livestock based alternative livelihood interventions.
– Promotion of Integrated Farming System based livelihood interventions.
– Community-based ecotourism.
– Need based intervention to particular locality.

11. –Thank you.