Social and Biological Predictors of Nutritional Status, Physical Growth, and Neurological Development

Download or read book Social and Biological Predictors of Nutritional Status, Physical Growth, and Neurological Development written by Lawrence S. Greene and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: Social, cultural, biological, and environmental factors are significant determinants of the patterns in which food and nutrients are distributed. Recent research demonstrating the influence of these variables on nutritional status, physical growth, and neurological development emphasizes their role as predictors. Following an overview of the causes of malnutrition, issues relating to the anthropometric assessment of nutritional status are discussed. The effects of breast-feeding, bottle-feeding, maternal neglect, and incidence of disease on child growth and subsequent nutritional status are examined. Clinical andpopulation studies analyze the causal interrelationships among various biosocial parameters as they affect motor development, failure to thrive, physical growth, nutritionalstatus, and developmental retardation. Methodological and statistical approaches used in human development studies areevaluated; results suggest that an ethnographic picture of the study population is critical to the design of effective intervention programs, and to interpretation of collected data. (nm).