Sex differences in seasonal variations of the nutritional status of serere adults in Senegal

Abstract

As part of a comprehensive study on the relationship betwe on nutrition and fertility, a longitudinal survey was carried out in 1981–1982 with a randomly chosen sample of 40 Serere families in Senegal, composing a sedentary Sahelian farming population. The survey was conducted in order to estimate the seasonal variations of the nutritional status of adults and occured during a period of chronic shortage, characterized by annual seasonal decreases of food resources. The survey included individual anthropometric measurements of morphological parameters, muscle mass and adipose reserves, at the two diametrically opposite periods of the year in terms of these food reserves — middle of the dry season (period of relative abundance) and the end of the rainy season before the first harvests, (at the end of the food shortage). The men exhibit a seasonal mobilization of the muscle mass, corresponding to periods of difficulty, demonstrating the fragility of the nutritional balance in the population. Although the energy reserves of the women are lower than normal values, they resist seasonal shocks markedly more than men, regardless of age and physiological status, without the need to mobilize protein reserves.