This paper presents results of the 1992 National Rural Nutrition Survey in Ethiopia that challenge the appropriateness of the centrality of food security as a dominant element of nutrition policy and planning. While the focus of this work is on protein-energy malnutrition in Ethiopia, the implications extend to other countries, and some of the same principles apply to micronutrient deficiencies. After a description of the design of the Ethiopian national nutrition surveillance system, results are presented for rural Ethiopia in terms of 1) the prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight by age; 2) changes in prevalence of stunting and underweight between February 1983 and March 1992; 3) prevalence of stunting and wasting by region; 4) distribution of stunted children by economic group and size of cultivated land; 5) prevalence of stunting and wasting in selected household economic groups by age group; 6) prevalence of stunting and wasting among children 24-59 months of age by size of cultivated area among cereal growers; 7) height-for-age z-scores across regions and cultivated areas; 8) weight-for-age z-scores; and 9) prevalence of stunting and medial age of introducing complementary foods. The most relevant findings of the study are that 1) stunting is far more common than wasting; 2) chronic malnutrition occurs at high rates among infants aged 6-11 months despite a typical rate of low birth rate, and the presence of stunting does not increase markedly after 24 months; 3) high rates of chronic malnutrition are ubiquitous, with some of the highest in food surplus areas; 4) the prevalence of chronic malnutrition has increased since 1983; 5) household food security is not uniformly associated with child nutritional status; and 6) cultivated area and child nutritional status are not significantly associated among children 6-23 months old.

中文翻译：

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食物至上的偏见和营养政策：埃塞俄比亚的教训

本文介绍了 1992 年埃塞俄比亚全国农村营养调查的结果，这些调查结果挑战了将粮食安全作为营养政策和规划的主要要素的核心地位的适当性。虽然这项工作的重点是埃塞俄比亚的蛋白质-能量营养不良，但其影响也延伸到其他国家，一些相同的原则也适用于微量营养素缺乏症。在描述了埃塞俄比亚国家营养监测系统的设计之后，将展示埃塞俄比亚农村以下方面的结果： 1) 按年龄划分的发育迟缓、消瘦和体重不足的流行率；2) 1983 年 2 月至 1992 年 3 月间发育迟缓和体重不足发生率的变化；3) 各地区发育迟缓和消瘦的流行率；4）发育不良儿童按经济组别和耕地面积分布；5) 按年龄组选择的家庭经济组的发育迟缓和消瘦流行率；6) 24-59 月龄儿童发育迟缓和消瘦的流行率（按耕地面积划分）；7) 跨地区和耕地的年龄别身高 z 分数；8) 年龄别体重 z 分数；9) 引入辅食的发育迟缓和中年流行率。该研究最相关的发现是：1) 发育迟缓比消瘦更常见；2) 6-11 个月大的婴儿尽管出生率低，但慢性营养不良的发生率很高，24 个月后发育迟缓的发生率并没有明显增加；3) 高慢性营养不良率无处不在，其中一些在粮食过剩地区最高；4) 慢性营养不良的流行率自 1983 年以来有所增加；5) 家庭粮食安全与儿童营养状况并不统一；6) 6-23 月龄儿童耕地面积与儿童营养状况无显着相关性。