02Apr17f Streetkids adapt well in Guatemala (Frits)
Saturday, 13 April, 2002, 23:26 GMT 00:26 UK
Street children healthier than expected
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1920000/1920570.stm
Homeless urban children in developing countries are healthier than was
originally thought.
The rapid increase in the number of homeless children in cities in the
developing world is a matter of grave concern.
But researchers have found that although the lives of these children can be
fraught with danger, they adapt physically to survive.
These kids are resilient and self-reliant and adapt physically to the
difficult conditions of homelessness
Professor AG Steegman
A team from the University at Buffalo examined the health of urban
Guatemalan street children.
They found that homeless children who lived in urban were in better health,
and had a better chance of survival than children from stable homes in
agricultural villages.
Researcher Timothy Sullivan found that the average body mass index (BMI) of
the urban homeless children was similar to that of US children.
BMI is a measure of a person's weight relative to their height. A score of
20-25 is deemed to be healthy.
It has been shown to be a very effective method of predicting which people
are likely to fall ill, or to suffer from a lack of energy.
The researchers examined 51 street children aged from 5 to15 who were
associated with a street school in a highland city in Guatemala.
The children were found to be shorter and weigh less than American
children.
However, their BMI was found to be similar.
The research echoes previous findings of a study of street children of
Kathmandu.
Professor AG Steegman, an expert in anthropology at the University at
Buffalo, said: "The business of being a street urchin, of making a living
on
the street, seems to work better for these children than we might anticipate.
"Their health as measured by their BMIs doesn't prove that they live a
fine
life - it is fraught with great danger, including murder and sexual
exploitation, especially for the girls - but it does confound our
expectations.
"These kids are resilient and self-reliant and adapt physically to the
difficult conditions of homelessness.
"Although middle-class urban kids certainly fare better, homeless urban
children seem to be doing better health-wise than they would if they lived
in intact families in poor agricultural communities."
The research was presented at a meeting of the American Association of
Physical Anthropologists.
---