Abstract

PIP: Anthropometric measurements, usually based on the growth of children, and considered to be reflective of the degree and state of nutritional status, have long been the measurement of choice in assessing the health and welfare of a community. However, it must be borne in mind that any such measure serves only as an indicator of the functioning of a very complex system. As such it is subject to error when applied according to rigid and predetermined numeral scales reflecting social valuations, and really cannot be considered to be a technical description of a physiological state. The limitations to the application of such inferred nutritional data, from a systems viewpoint, are many and should be recognized. Nonetheless, measures of nutritional status can provide valuable information on the effects of the health, social and food environment of individuals and communities. Bearing in mind the limitations of their usefulness, such measurements can serve as useful tools in policy making and can be integrated with information from other sectors of government for this purpose.