The biocultural approach in nutritional anthropology: case studies of malnutrition in Mali

Socioeconomic status is often cited as the most important factor influencing nutritional status and growth in children. Research in Mali, however, has shown that relative poverty is not an accurate predictor of nutritional status and growth, and that other factors may be more important. In Mali, these factors include maternal age, marital problems, untreated illness, allocation of household resources, maternal attitudes, maternal competence, support networks, and the social structure of a polygynous, patrilineal society. In this paper, case studies of children in three families illustrate how sociocultural malnutrition in young children can be viewed as an unintended consequence of the complex interactions among these factors.