karawa, iri' wari' - Fundação Nacional de Saúde - Funasa

ABSTRACTDespite the importance of the subject, the nutritional status and food consumptionpractices prevalent among Brazilian indigenous populations have remained largelyuninvestigated. The present study examines the case of a Wari’ community located inRondônia, in the southwest Amazon region. During eigth months of fieldwork twoanthropometric studies and two studies that involved quantitative and qualitative aspectsof food consumption were carried out in order to investigate seasonal variation innutritional status. Fieldwork also involved participant observation, as well as informaland semi-structured interviews. Both food consumption and anthropometrics reveal thatconditions are generally worse during the rainy season. The study reveals that the Wari’have systematic rules and practices that regulate everyday activities directly orindirectly related to food procurement and consumption. In a number of ways thesepractices reveal their social organization, their concepts of physiology, and theirrelations with the environment. The nutritional profile of a population may be seen as asensitive indicator of its living conditions; in the case of the Wari’ these are shown to behighly unfavorable. This finding is confirmed by observation of the sanitary conditionsof the community and by its morbidity and mortality statistics. The prevalence of lowweight and stature found in Wari’ children is among the highest reported in theliterature on indigenous populations in Brazil. Overweight is practically unknown in anyage group. The extent and implication of changes in the economy of the group arediscussed, especially its involvement with the regional market. The importance oftaking seasonality into account is stressed when defining routines of nutritionalvigilance, and when discussing the nutritional status of indigenous peoples. Thenutritional situation of the Wari’ population is an expression of the inequalities thatdivide it from the rest of the population of Brazil and reflects interaction amongecological, hygienic, socio-cultural, and economic conditions. The study stresses theneed to carry out more investigations that integrate epidemiological withanthropological perspectives in order to obtain a broader and more realistic picture ofthe factors that determine the nutritional status of the indigenous peoples of Brazil.KEYWORDS: nutritional anthropology; nutritional status; food surveys; South AmericanIndians; anthropometry.