Nutrition and nutritional status of rural women in East Java
Kusin, J.A.; Kardjati, S.; De With, C.; Sudibia, I.K.
Tropical and Geographical Medicine 31(4): 571-585
1979
ISSN/ISBN: 0041-3232 PMID: 542993 Document Number: 254033
Nutritional surveys concerned primarily with pregnant and lactating women were in 9 regions of East Java chosen to represent the different ecological areas in the province. The areas included those designated as "surplus", "marginal" and "minus" on the basis of food production, income per person and potential for development. Of a total of 3828 mothers of children up to 15 years old, 37% were lactating and 6.7% were pregnant. The number of live children per family was rather small, 2.0 to 3.4, and 10 to 31% had died. Women were of average height 149 cm and bodyweight 42 kg. Average bodyweight gain in pregnancy varied from 5.0 kg in the region of Sidoarjo to 7.4 kg in those of Blitar and Trenggalek. Lactating women had a higher bodyweight:height ratio than the nonlactating or pregnant women; 18 to 24% of the nonpregnant, nonlactating, 13 to 35% of the lactating and 33 to 57% of the pregnant women were below 90% of the Indonesian standard of bodyweight-for-height. Of the women with moderate to severe malnutrition 73% were illiterate and of those with moderate nutritional status 52%. There were considerable unexplained differences between the regions. Low incidences for illiteracy and the highest for child survival were in areas designated as "minus". In the predominantly cassava-eating regions of Blitar and Trenggalek, minus areas, the nutritional status of the women was better than in the maize- and rice-eating regions of Tuban and Lamongan, marginal, and the rice-eating region of Sidoarjo, surplus.