752 



birth rates and life expectancy — so that the number of consumers is 

 equal to or greater than the gains in production. Malenbaum's claim is 

 that all or most developed nations have gone through this transition of 

 high population growth rates and that the dilemma is solved when 

 the percentage gain in output exceeds that in population.^^^ But this 

 argument assumes a course of growth in the developing nations similar 

 to that of the Industrial Revolution in the Western world. It also 

 assumes an ultimate socioeconomic status like that of the United States 

 where in 1960 middle and upper income families were averaging three 

 and two children per family, respectively."* 



The theory of the relationship of population growth to improve- 

 ment in public health measures combined with rising standards of 

 living is not well developed. In the nations of Western Europe, \A'hen 

 living standards rose during a period of improved public health and 

 sanitation, populations tended to rise more slowly. On the other hand, 

 in the developing countries, population increases have responded to 

 public health measures by proceeding at even steeper rates, while 

 living standards have increased slightly if at all. Observation of this 

 set of conditions has tended to cast doubt on the idea that declining 

 rates of population in these countries ^o hand in hand with rising 

 standards of living. Moreover, the implication is that because of the 

 threat of pojiulation explosion, public health measures should be de- 

 ferred until the populations of the less developed countries have been 

 brought under control. This thesis is challenged by Dr. John Bryant, 

 who contends that there is still some validity in the concept that rela- 

 tive stability of populations is coupled with economic and health fac- 

 tors. In particular, he warns that it is contrary to the values of the 

 medical profession or of civilized society to solve the problem of the 

 population explosion by relying on ill-health, under-nourishment, and 

 the misery of poverty; on the contrary, he declares that population 

 control is incompatible with such conditioning. 



As we think about the interrelationships of health, popu- 

 lation, and economic development at a national level, we must 

 not lose sight of the meaning of these terms for individual 

 families and communities. Consider, for a moment, the find- 

 ings of Aguirre and Wray in a small Colombian community. 



They found that 42 percent of children under six years of 

 age were malnourished and 30 percent had diarrhea at any 

 one time. In seeking cultural, social and economic reasons for 

 the malnutrition, they found a dramatic correlation with 

 factors that lead to a low per capita expenditure on food. 

 With increasing age, incomes of fathers remained static be- 

 cause as untrained workers their value did not increase with 

 age. But they had increasing numbers of children, and there 

 was, therefore, a steady decrease in the amount of food money 

 for each child. Just as steadily, there was a mounting propor- 

 tion of malnourished children. 



Aguirre and Wray initiated a nutritional supplementation 

 program simple enough and economical enough to be within 

 the resources of the community, and this led to a drop in the 



103 Ibid., page 110. 



"« Arthur K. .Ipnson. "IQ and Scholastic Achievement." Harvard Educational Review 

 (Winter 1969), page 98. 



