Nutrition in agricultural development in Aleppo Province Syria 1. Farm resources, rainfall and nutritional status

Surveys were conducted on the growth of children in eight rural villages in high and low rainfall zones of Aleppo Province Syria as part of an investigation to collect base line data on diet, socioeconomic status and agricultural development. Fifty percent of the children in both zones were below 90% of international reference standards in weight for age, and there was also a high prevalence of stunting with 17% of preschool children being below 90% height for age. Weight for height values were, however, generally close to reference standards in both zones. For school age children, mean weight for height and weight for age data showed superiority in the high rainfall zone, though weight for age deficits increased with age in both zones. The validity of using international reference standards was supported by the finding that 95, 7–8 year old Syrian children from more privileged backgrounds attending a private school in Aleppo approximated the median values for well‐nourished, healthy children in the United States. Various agricultural and socioeconomic indicators, however, failed to predict the nutritional status of preschool children, but wage earning rural families generally showed better nutritional status in their children than did full‐time farmers.

Key words:

• anthropometry
• children
• Middle East
• farm resources
• agriculture
• nutrition