Infant Nutrition in the Sub-tropics and Tropics

Book excerpt: Abstract: Children in tropical and subtropical, technically underdeveloped areas of the world suffer from malnutrition as a result of poverty, unavailability of suitable food, lack of knowledge and superstition. Education and assistance is needed as part of the general attempt to raise the standard of living with a resultant tendency to limitation of family size and drop in the birth-rate. The nutritional level of the community and its young children is positively related to the educational and economic level of the community, to the availablity of sufficient food of the right quality and to the adequacy and accessibility of the health services. The problems of infant nutrition are dealt with from the point of view of the health worker in the field. The viewpoint is that an understanding of methods and approaches to food problems by active, community committees is often the prime nutritional need in developing countries.