Protein, Calories, And Development

Nutritional Variables In The Economics Of Developing Countries

Bernard Schmitt

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781000308433
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Development Economics
• Index: Economics

Production of world food supplies is related to more complicated socioeconomic variables than have previously been analyzed. Besides traditional inputs of land, labor, and fertilizer, the technological capabilities and a variety of nutritional and other human capital components are significant independent variables in explaining agricultural production in the developing world. The integration of economic analyses with the concepts of nutritional science offers an expanded and effective means for analyzing the complex problems of agricultural production in nutritionally deficient countries. Bernard Schmitt traces the circular relationship between nutrition and human capital, labor productivity, food production, and per capita consumption of calories and protein. He defines the basic nutritional terms that are most useful to economists in analyzing agricultural and foodrelated questions and provides examples that stress the importance of concentrating on nutritional quality as well as gross quantity. Transformations are used to convert quantities into basic nutritional components, allowing more meaningful quantitative analyses in an econometric framework. Dr. Schmitt presents a flexible methodology for forecasting commodity production, using it to make projections for the developing countries for each major commodity group and to test various policy alternatives such as extensive trade, expanded food assistance programs, substantial resource or input expansion, further expansion of Green Revolution technology, and development of alternatives to agriculture. Although he is certain that gains can be accomplished through population control and agricultural advances, supplemented by alternative nutritional sources, he concludes that conditions in nutritionally deficient countries are unlikely to improve, on average, through the mid-1980s.

1. The Global Food Problem: Past and Present

Malnutrition adversely affects mental development, physical development, productivity, the span of working years—all of which significantly influence the economic potential of man.

Alan Berg
The Nutrition Factor

The problem of feeding the population of the world has been a focal point of developmental economics since Thomas Malthus published his essay on The Principle of Population in 1798.¹ The problem itself has been present since man evolved. Hundreds of millions of people are believed living today at the brink of starvation. Yet only recently have experts in fields related to the problems of food shortages and malnutrition attempted to combine their expertise in seeking solutions.

Whether we weigh human capital benefits against costs, as Alan Berg does, or view improved nutritional status as a pure public good, the need for the elimination of world hunger exists.² Here we approach the problem through the application of new research procedures that combine the methods of economic analysis with the basic physiological principles of biology and nutrition. Examining the circular connection between nutrition and the economic factors of agricultural production will help us understand one of the world's gravest problems—that of adequately nourishing its inhabitants.

The Nature of Nutritional Deficiencies

Until recently, there was a much wider distinction associated with the terms "undernourishment" and "malnutrition." Undernourishment is used to represent a shortage in total energy intake (measured in calories) that makes it impossible for an individual to maintain normal activity without a loss in weight. Malnutrition refers to the symptoms developing from a lack of one or more basic nutrients. (The nutrient is usually protein, but it can also be one of the many vitamins or minerals.)

A relationship between the symptoms and causes of these two conditions (undernourishment and malnutrition) has been discovered in recent years. Therefore, in current medical literature the two are often combined and categorized as "protein/ calorie malnutrition" (or protein/energy malnutrition). This condition is often complicated by a number of diseases that can attack the body while it is in a weakened state.

Because infants and preschool children have less control over what they eat and because their ability to consume is limited, they are the groups most likely to suffer protein deficiences without an accompanying energy deficiency. They are also the most likely to be afflicted with protein/calorie malnutrition.

Marasmus and kwashiorkor are the names given to the most severe clinical varieties of protein/calorie malnutrition. Marasmus, caused by a gross shortage of both calories and protein, is characterized by shrunken features and gross physical retardation of the child. Kwashiorkor is brought on by a shortage of protein. The often photographed children with bloated bellies and glassy stares are victims of kwashiorkor.

In their article "The Effects of Malnutrition on the Individual," Joaquin Cravioto and Elsa R. DeLicardie review the acquired medical evidence on the detrimental physical and mental effects of protein/calorie malnutrition.3 They point out that much is yet unknown about the complete effects of malnutrition on humans. Because the effects of nutritional deficiences are studied under isolated conditions with test animals rather than with humans, insufficient proof exists to draw definite conclusions about direct relationships between deficiencies and physical and mental subnormalities. This is the case when discussing the effects on growth and physical stature. It is believed, however, that nutritional deficiencies during periods of growth cause permanent reduction in ultimate size in humans as it does in animals.

Many documented cases have shown an association between malnutrition in preschool children and low levels of mental performance. Studies have also correlated protein/calorie malnutrition with diminished learning skills. The degree of malnutrition, the timing of the deficiencies, and their duration seem to ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Tables and Figures
• Foreword
• Preface
• 1. The Global Food Problem: Past and Present
• 2. Nutritional Requirements and Diet Quality
• 3. Nutrient Sources and Their Relative Importance
• 4. Production Relationships: Agricultural Commodities in the Developing Countries
• 5. Agricultural Commodity Projections, 1985: An Alternative Approach
• 6. Policy Implications of Nutrition for Developing Countries
• 7. Conclusions
• Appendixes
• Notes
• Selected Bibliography
• Index