[Nutritional deficiencies: specific control measures by the health sector]

The authors describe and analyze the health sector's role in relation to ways of controlling major endemic nutritional deficiencies by reviewing the theoretical groundwork and establishing possible regression estimates for the various nutritional problems under study. The article is a contribution to the analysis of sectorial alternatives elaborated according to United Nations goals (UNICEF - WHO - FAO) for the year 2000. Among these goals, we stress reduction of the proportion of low birth weight (less than 2500 grams) to less than 10%; reduction of anemia cases to one-third of present cases; a reduction of 50% in prevalence of moderate and severe cases of malnutrition and the virtual control of vitamin A and iodine deficiencies.