The intent of the present work responds to the necessity of the settlers in depressed areas of La Paz's Altiplano in Bolivia of knowing the reality surrounding the unfolding of their lives. The focus takes into account only one part of all that weighs down on them: that part dealing with their nutritional and alimentative state. This study takes in the communities of Canaviri, Pocohata, Colina Blanca, Puente Arriba, and Villa Arriendo of the Ingavi Province in the Department of La Paz. The variable taken into account is the families' nutritional situation; these families possessing the same status in the following dimensions: physical and economic availability of food, food consumption, alimentary habits, biological utilization of aliments-determined in this case through causal indicators, conditions of basic sewage drain off, and level of instruction of family heads. An encompassing and descriptive study was based on the preceding dimensions. Help in collecting information was provided by community authorities and the population of each community in particular who were subjected to the corresponding taking of anthropometric measurements. Through investigation and direct observation, all the information was obtained with the purpose of responding to the proposed objectives. The principal objective was to determine the nutritional and alimentary situation of the populations of the communities under observation. The other objectives could be summed up in the following terms: to evaluate the nutritional state of all inhabitants of the communities, to determine the availability of food for the families in the study, to establish the families' food consumption, to determine nursing (lactational) habits and complementary alimentation, to determine the biological utilization of food, through cause and effect indicators, and to determine the level of instruction of family heads. The figures obtained show the different degrees of malnutrition affecting children as well as adults. In reference to the first point, or the nutritional status, it is necessary to bring out the high prevalence of chronic undernourishment in those under 18 years of age (37% on average in the five communities) in relation to those over 18 years of age where the prevalence reaches 84%. This alimentation is not varied and above all is conditioned on various factors that are principally economic in nature-alimentary habits and little crop diversification. In reference to food consumption, the principal base of alimentation in the five communities is carbohydrates coming primarily from tubers such as the potato and its derivatives including potato starch and tunta. Because of the characteristics of this type of monotonous alimentation, the degrees of adequacy reached vary between 59% and 83% for calories, between 35% and 58% for proteins, and from 72% to 40% for fats. Finally, carbohydrates show the best levels in terms of adequacy, though these are still under recommendable levels, varying from 76% to 88%. Another point to take into consideration is the low incomes obtained by these families, which usually consist of more than 5 members. Of this low income, the amount destined for food fluctuates between 4 and 5 dollars (23.30 Bolivianos) per week. Poverty is a causal factor of malnutrition as well as low food consumption, bad living conditions, lack of basic sanitary sewage services, and problems of effective communication with the outside. Therefore, poverty should be reduced through training of the settlers. Given the characteristics of the nutritional status, the alimentation these people receive regularly, the environmental conditions in which they live, their low incomes, their high percentages of illiteracy, and the few possibilities that they have to overcome their limitations, the conclusion that arises is that by continuing the same path a risk is run that, in the future, the workforce will diminish and, at the same time, their harvests will shrink, consequently causing above all a greater danger in the nutritional well-being of the settlers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BGMYU2/oai:scholarsarchive.byu.edu:etd-6371 |
| Date | 01 January 1996 |
| Creators | Gonzles Tapia, Juana F. Moraima |
| Publisher | BYU ScholarsArchive |
| Source Sets | Brigham Young University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
| Coverage | Ingavi (Bolivia: Province) |
| Rights | http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/ |
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