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Biomedical subjects

A Pradilla

Publications and source records attributed to A Pradilla.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

From food basket to food security. The food factor in nutritional surveillance.

One important indicator of nutritional surveillance is the one devoted to monitor food security. The experience toward the development of one of such indicators is presented. This includes the development of a food basket, defined as the group of foods that meet the characteristics such as is now consumed by important population segments of the community; it contributes a substantial portion of the calories and proteins purchased, and is responsible for an important proportion of the food budget. The concept implies a dynamic food basket, the quantities of which are calculated in a way that simulates the behavior of the consumer and the best nutrition knowledge. For this purpose we use linear program techniques. A measure of the risk of being unable to buy the foods needed for a family is presented, and is used as a proxy for food security risk. In the appendix, the mathematical expressions of the model used for a linear program is also presented.

Colombia

Screening for malnutrition with arm circumference.

The opinions on the performance characteristics of the mid arm circumference as anthropometric measurement for malnutrition screening are quite contradictory. In this paper we analyze the specificity and sensitivity of the arm tape under different conditions and conclude that the design of the tape characteristics should aim at an instrument which can satisfy specific needs instead of a general purpose one. We also give some measurements for the practical design of the instrument. 1. This investigation has been carried out under the Contract AID/ta-C-1121 and the Fundación para la Educación Superior. 2. Universidad del Valle. 3. Fundación para la Educación Superior. 4. Community Systems Foundation.

Anthropometry

Comparative analysis of some anthropometric measurements.

The main objective of this work is to determine what anthropometric method to use under field conditions, given the kind of mainutrition to be detected. In the first part of the work some criteria and procedures are given by which to compare the field perfomance characteristics (i.e. transportability, facility of use, etc.), of the most commonly used instruments. Then we extrapolate these characteristics to the respective methods like weight for age, weight for height, height for age, etc. In the second part we present a correlation matrix among the various methods and analyze it in order to associate with each method a specific typology of malnutrition.

Age Factors