Overview of Long-Term Nutrition Intervention Studies in Guatemala, 1968–1989

Abstract

This is an overview of ten papers published in this issue of the Food and Nutrition Bulletin dealing with two components of a nutrition intervention study: the INCAP longitudinal study, 1969–1977, and the follow-up study, 1988–1989. The latter is a continuation of the former and seeks to test the hypothesis that nutritional improvements in early childhood lead to improved human capital formation in adolescents and young adults. Beneficial outcomes have been found to include greater body size and fat-free mass (particularly in females), improved working capacity in males, and enhanced intellectual performance in bath sexes.