Algunos datos sobre la situación nutricional en México / Some data on the nutrition situation in Mexico

ABSTRACT

This article presents the over-all results of 26 nutritional surveys, consisting mainly of dietetic, clinical, epidemiological, and economic data. Ten of the surveys were conducted in small agricultural communities; then in more organized communities with certain health and general services as well as some tradesmen and artisans; and six surveys were made in urban areas where the population was made up predominantly of wage earners and employees. The diet in the rural areas was found to be very deficient, consisting mainly of corn, which contributes over one half the total calories and a large part of the proteins. Depending on the area and socio-economic level, it is supplemented with varying amounts of beans, sugar, some fats, a little meat, bread and alimentary pastes, rice occasionally, and vegetables and fruits. Milk, eggs, and other dairy foods are rarely consumed. The diet is deficient in calories, proteins, riboflavin, ascorbic acid, and vitamin A. In some areas it is also deficient in calcium and niacin. Moreover, the proteins are of low quality, and tryptophane is the limiting amino acid. The diet gives rise to various deficiency disorders among the population, children being the most severely affected. These show marked growth and maturation disorders and frequently present various signs and symptoms of several deficiencies. About 2 per cent of the rural population is decidedly undernourished. A study of the correlation between the consumption of good-quality proteins and pre-school mortality showed that one important manifestation of