Changing dietary patterns in the Peruvian Andes

Abstract

This study examines the effect of seasonality and socioeconomic differentiation on food consumption and dietary change in the southern highlands of Peru. Nutritional data were collected by means of food weighing on a sample of 33 households (n=179) from the town of Nuñoa. Comparisons with previously‐reported data for this community indicate that the composition of the diet has changed markedly since the 1960s while the energy content has not. Seasonality in food availability is evident, as traditional stored foods and non‐local products assume greater importance during the months preceding the harvest. However, such seasonal effects are mediated by dramatic socioeconomic differences in food consumption. Upper SES families have more diverse diets that are higher in energy and fat, but less seasonally variable than those of poorer families. On the other hand, the poorer households purchase fewer non‐local foods and thus experience marked seasonal fluctuations in energy consumption. Hence, increased levels of commercialization of the economy, improvement of public health facilities and government services and the introduction of agrarian reform policies over the past two decades have done little to improve the nutritional status of most community members.