What should I feed my child?Perceptions <strong>of</strong> foods for young childrenamong Lima mothersWhat types <strong>of</strong> food do people give their children?Are choices made on the basis <strong>of</strong> custom, economy,education – or a combination <strong>of</strong> these? A study wasconducted in a handful <strong>of</strong> communities on the outskirts<strong>of</strong> Lima to determine caregivers’ perceptions and habitsregarding child nutrition, specifically their use <strong>of</strong> animalbasedproducts in the diet <strong>of</strong> young children betweensix and twenty four months old.19The study, carried out jointly in 2003 by <strong>Urban</strong> Harvestand Peru’s Nutritional Research Institute (IIN), is set tohelp develop future programs and educational materialaimed at combating infant malnutrition with anemphasis on incorporating animal-based products suchas meats, milk and eggs into babies’ meals.A vital source <strong>of</strong> protein, vitamins, iron, zinc and calcium,animal-source foods are important for human growthand development, particularly during children’s firstyears <strong>of</strong> life, when mental and physical development ismost rapid and when the incorporation <strong>of</strong> foodscomplementary to breast milk is <strong>of</strong> utmost importance.Access to meat and other animal-based products,however, is limited in rural and peri-urban areas such asthe four shantytowns where the study was carried out,as these products are more difficult and more expensiveto obtain than say, vegetable crops or processed goods.In Peru, <strong>of</strong> the half million children under the age <strong>of</strong> five,one in four suffers from chronic malnutrition and onein every two has anemia—a disorder caused by a dietaryiron or vitamin deficiency.Through this and other projects, the <strong>International</strong> PotatoCenter (CIP) and partner institutions are committed toimproving children’s nutrition and overall health byencouraging mothers to adopt good feeding habits,disseminating information on the health benefits <strong>of</strong>consuming animal-based products, and providingrecommendations on the incorporation <strong>of</strong> suchproducts into daily meals.The methodology used in this particular study includedin-depth one-on-one and group interviews withcaregivers—including home animal breeders—as wellas written surveys and questionnaires. During the initialinformation gathering process, project leaders appliedthe Pile Sort technique, which involves users groupingcards into piles according to specific topics. This simpleand effective information sorting method helpedstructure the content <strong>of</strong> the study.Study results brought to light, among other things,reasons why caregivers prefer one animal-basedproduct over another: the availability <strong>of</strong> such productsand the perception (and current use) <strong>of</strong> these products.Caregivers in these communities generally prefer t<strong>of</strong>eed their children chicken liver, chicken meat, milk andegg as their main source <strong>of</strong> animal-based goods. Fish,chicken meat, and yogurt are the products that they
20(and their children) least favor and/or least consume. Thestudy discovered that these preferences are closely tiedto the caregiver’s economic situation, access to thesegoods and cultural eating habits.<strong>Urban</strong> Harvest aims to incorporate and promote animalbasedproducts that are produced locally and/or are easilyobtained into aid programs by providing caregivers withideas on different meal preparations and presentations,while emphasizing the nutritional importance <strong>of</strong> suchproducts.Indeed, one <strong>of</strong> the main causes <strong>of</strong> infant malnutrition iscaregivers’ inadequate feeding practices which include,among other things, over-diluting infant’s food, notfeeding them enough food throughout the day, and notincorporate animal foods (meat, poultry, fish and eggs)into meals – or even totally excluding them.This study considers the fact that not all children are thesame: feeding practices differ from child to childdepending on their growth, development and age.What does remain a constant, however, is the fact thatmalnutrition affects an infant’s health, growth anddevelopment, and therefore can lead to a lower quality<strong>of</strong> life as an adult.
- Page 1 and 2: Impacts of urbanagricultureHighligh
- Page 3 and 4: 2Impacts of urban agricultureHighli
- Page 6 and 7: IntroductionThe CGIAR 1 System-wide
- Page 8: 7RESEARCH FRAMEWORKThe Urban Harves
- Page 11 and 12: Flower power in the Philippines:Str
- Page 13 and 14: 12At the policy level, CIP-UPWARD-U
- Page 16 and 17: tours offered all over the country.
- Page 18 and 19: Identifying best bet marketingoppor
- Page 22 and 23: Introduction to Urban ecosystems he
- Page 24 and 25: Pesticide-related health hazards ar
- Page 26 and 27: test whether contamination was redu
- Page 28 and 29: Dirty secret treasures in NairobiNa
- Page 30 and 31: The chaotic state of solid waste ma
- Page 32 and 33: themselves, both recently harvested
- Page 34 and 35: Introduction to stakeholderand poli
- Page 36 and 37: invited to attend this public prese
- Page 38 and 39: An urban agricultural model in the
- Page 40 and 41: Security, Agriculture and Livestock
- Page 42 and 43: KARI in July 2004. One of the recom
- Page 44 and 45: NetworkingLocal and global networki
- Page 46 and 47: Networking and capacity building ac
- Page 48 and 49: 47Final Stakeholder Workshop on Iss
- Page 50 and 51: LATIN AMERICA49Activities Location
- Page 52 and 53: 51Foro Electoral Políticas y Compr
- Page 54 and 55: Dubbling M., G. Prain, M. Warnaars,
- Page 56 and 57: Peters, D., Ngai, DO Duc 2004 Agro
- Page 58 and 59: University of the Philippines,Dilim
- Page 60 and 61: Investment partners59Bundensministe
- Page 62 and 63: STUDENTS AND INTERNS61LimaTomás Al
- Page 64 and 65: Abbreviations and acronymsCEPISCESA
- Page 66: Urban Harvest is the CGIAR system w
Change language