A theoretical model for the study of nutritional status: An ecosystem approach

Abstract

Nutrient intake is recognized as but one of many environmental factors which act upon the genetic potential of the young child to influence his physical development. The syndrome of malnutrition occurs not in isolation, but within the context of an entire constellation of environmental factors which together contribute to the final manifestation of the problem. Because nutrient intake may be associated with various environmental characteristics, the approach taken in the present model is ecological. It is believed that the nutritional status of preschool children must be examined in relation to factors which characterize his near environment, particularly his family. In the theoretical model which has been developed to study nutritional status, the family functions as the near environment for the developing child and thus plays a key role in providing conditions for interchange between him and the components of the more distal environment. Nutrient intake is viewed as an output of the family system resulting from the interaction of matter‐energy and information flows within that system. The child, as an independent ecosystem, processes the maiming nutrient supply in such a way as to produce as outputs of the system, his physical development and nutritional status.