Migration, Agribusiness and Nutritional Status of Children under Five in Northwest Mexico

María-Isabel Ortega, Cecilia Rosales, Jill Guernsey de Zapien, Patricia Aranda, Alejandro Castañeda, Socorro Saucedo, Cecilia Montaño and Alma Contreras
Additional contact information
María-Isabel Ortega: División de Nutrición, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, A.C., Carretera a La Victoria Km. 0.6, Ejido La Victoria, C.P. 83304, Hermosillo, Sonora, México
Cecilia Rosales: Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, 1295 N. Martin Ave., P.O. Box 245163, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
Jill Guernsey de Zapien: Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, 1295 N. Martin Ave., P.O. Box 245163, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
Patricia Aranda: Centro de Estudios en Salud y Sociedad, El Colegio de Sonora, Avenida Obregón No. 54 Col. Centro, C.P. 83000, Hermosillo, Sonora, México
Alejandro Castañeda: Escuela de Ciencias de la Comunicación, Universidad de Sonora, Blvd. Luis Encinas y Rosales S/N, Col. Centro, C.P. 83000, Hermosillo, Sonora, México
Socorro Saucedo: División de Nutrición, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, A.C., Carretera a La Victoria Km. 0.6, Ejido La Victoria, C.P. 83304, Hermosillo, Sonora, México
Cecilia Montaño: División de Nutrición, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, A.C., Carretera a La Victoria Km. 0.6, Ejido La Victoria, C.P. 83304, Hermosillo, Sonora, México
Alma Contreras: División de Nutrición, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, A.C., Carretera a La Victoria Km. 0.6, Ejido La Victoria, C.P. 83304, Hermosillo, Sonora, México

IJERPH, 2011, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: The aim of this study was to examine the nutritional status of children of Mexican migrant worker families under five years of age within the context of global food markets. The sample included 404 children less than five years old from farms and agricultural communities in northwest Mexico. Prevalence of stunting and underweight of children appeared very similar to that of indigenous children from the national sample survey (difference 0.9 and 1.6 percentage points, respectively). Compared to the national sample of Mexican children, stunting and underweight seemed higher in migrant children (difference 17.7 and 4.5 percentage points, respectively), but wasting, an indicator of both chronic and acute undernutrition, appeared to indicate a process of nutritional recuperation. Migrant children living in poverty and suffering from chronic undernutrition, poor performance and scarce education opportunities, can be expected to eventually become agricultural workers with low productivity and poor general health. Consumer’s demands on social and environmental standards of fresh food production in developed countries could be an opportunity to impact the lives of migrant agricultural workers, their families and communities.

Keywords: children under five; migration; health disparities; Mexico (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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