American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 25, 74-84, Copyright © 1972 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Nutritional status of preschool children of Marin County welfare recipients

¹ Professor of Nutrition, University of California
² Professor of Human Nutrition and Chairman, Department of Nutritional Sciences, College of Agricultural Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley

Two groups of county welfare recipients were surveyed in order to assess the nutritional status of their preschool children. The dispersed group (D) was predominantly white and the group segregated by residence in a public housing project area (S) was predominantly black.

Nearly one-half (42%) of the D children and one-third of the S children were below the 25th centile of the Stuart growth charts established for normal children in Boston. The heights of S boys were normally distributed, but heights of S girls and D children of both sexes fell below accepted norms. The younger child in a pair from the same D family was nearly always more retarded in growth than the older one(s). The weights of both groups were normally distributed. Maternal weight gain with the index children was quite variable; 26% of D and 45% of S mothers had gained less than 20 lb and 27% of both groups had been advised to follow low calorie, or salt-restricted diets, or both. Few of D but 41% of S women had taken diuretic drugs. There was a high incidence of congenital defects and prematurity.

Although the dietary records showed low intakes of iron, the incidence of anemia was low. Serum protein values were within the normal limits. Dietary calcium, folacin, vitamin A, ascorbic acid, and vitamin B₁₂ were low. The most outstanding biochemical defects were low folacin levels in 36% of D and 60% of S and low hematocrit values in 18% of D and 55% of S children.

Of the factors that adversely affect impoverished children, our bias is toward nutrition. It appears that welfare allowances are grossly inadequate for families to purchase the quality of foods that would provide a child with the nourishment he needs in addition to paying for the fixed family expenditures, such as rent and transportation. AFDC allowances should be revised to provide a family with at least 100% of the current need standards, based on realistic estimates of fixed expenses.

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