| OCR Text |
Show 163 of a mixed Council which would deal with the problem of nutrition and hygienic care of Indian children and adults in the various established centers or those which will be established in the future. 2) To recognize the importance of and to ratify the resolutions XVII, XXV, XXVII, y XVIII and L adopted at the First Inter-American Indianist Congress referring to the biological improvement of autochthonous groups and to recommend their immediate fulfillment where Mexico is concerned. 1944 Ramos Espinosa, Alfredo (Mexico). "Bases para un Estudio Geografico de la Alimentacion en Mexico," America Indigena, IV No. 1 (January, 1944) Mexico, D.F., pp. 65-72. English Summary: Dr. Ramos Espinosa writes with reference to Mexico that the geographic study of diet, or what might be called regional nutrition analysis must necessarily include two aspects, the historical past and the present. All that is necessary to study the former is the compilation and unification of the abundant information which is scattered in books, magazines, and publications of all types. The nutrition of various ethnic groups should be studied during periods of migration and settlement, during cultural peaks and declines, during the Conquest, the viceroy-ship, and thereafter. The study of infant nutrition should be given the importance it deserves. A scientific regional division adequate for these ends should be made. In the study of the present, morbidity and mortality should be investigated from the point of view of diet, for diet is one of the etiological factors in disease of the digestive tract, especially in the case of diarrhea and enteritis. The period of infant mortality should be considered as comprising the first two years of life, for during the first year a child enjoys the protection given by mothers' milk. Consideration should also be given to relatively painless diseases caused by deficient nutrition. The study of present day nutrition should include the statistical study of the production and exportation of nutritive products, bearing in mind that the information collected in this way be of national rather than regional significance. Precautions should be taken to discriminate between foods eaten by the people and those used to feed animals, for seeds, and other purposes. As a third chapter of his study Dr. Ramos Espinosa presents what he calls, "Characterization of Foods" which is a regional description of foods and their characteristics, including the effects of soil composition, ultraviolet radiations from the sun, as well as the manner of food preparation. He describes kitchen utensils, |
