Seasonal dietary stress in Peruvian children

This article examines the seasonal variation in energy intake among young children in a fanning community in southern Peru. Caloric intakes among young children fall to their lowest annual level during the post-harvest season even though food and cash resources are at their highest levels. Among toddlers (1-3 years) the decline is statistically significant (p = 0.006). Their energy intake meets only 65.6 per cent of their predicted requirement during the post-harvest season. In contrast to the literature, dietary stress for young children is not greatest in the pre-harvest season. Also, household food availability does not accurately indicate dietary risk among young children in this community.