Demographic and Socio-Economic Changes in Families in Four Guatemalan Villages, 1967–1987

The Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP) carried out a longitudinal study of the effects of nutritional improvements on growth and development in early childhood in four villages in eastern Guatemala, 1969–1977, with a preparatory survey in 1967 and a follow-up study of the participants in 19881989. This paper examines differences among the four villages in education, occupation, quality of housing, and demographic profiles over a 20-year period, focusing on comparisons between the two villages that received a high-energy, high-protein supplement and the two that received a low-energy supplement at two different times: before the initial longitudinal study and before the follow-up study. The results suggest gradual improvement in all the villages on a number of indicators. However, the two pairs of village were not comparable on all measures; of particular concern for the interpretation of effects on cognitive development are differences in education.