Undernutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa: Is There a Sex Bias?

Peter Svedberg
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Peter Svedberg: University of Stockholm

Chapter 9 in Issues in Contemporary Economics, 1991, pp 191-213 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract In recent years, several empirical investigations have suggested that female children in South Asia are more frequently undernourished than male children (Chen et al., 1980; 1981; Sen and Sengupta, 1983; das Gupta, 1987; Behrman, 1988), although there are a few counter-indications (Harriss, 1987). Schofield (1979, pp. 82–3) stated that ‘analysis of data from 94 Latin American villages showed that females aged 0–4 years fulfilled 87 per cent of their expected weight/age measurements compared with the 90 per cent level achieved by boys of the same age. The differences, as measured by the t-paired test, were found to be significant at the 0.5 per cent level.’ The evidence available on gender differences in nutrition and health in Sub-Saharan Africa is scant. The most comprehensive quantitative information has been published by Schofield (1979, p. 87). Her analysis of data from 11 African villages showed that adult males fulfilled 101 per cent of their estimated calorie requirement, while women only filled 96 per cent, but the difference was not statistically significant.

Keywords: Weight Differential; National Nutrition Survey; Gender Line; Negative Height; Vital Registration System (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1991
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DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-11579-2_9

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