The High Cost of Being Poor

Longitudinal anthropometric and socioeconomic assessment was made of 127 families of children admitted to the British American Hospital in Lima, Peru, with malnutrition in 1961 to 1971. In 1972, those recruited during 1961 to 1966 had higher incomes and were more likely to have running water and electricity than those recruited later, who were more likely to be using candles or kerosene and to buy water in cylinders, at a unit cost 16.7 times higher. Mean mid parental heights were equal, but the children from families with water and electricity services were taller for their age. Expenditures for illumination were similar, whether for electricity or for candles or kerosene, but the cost of water by volume was very much higher in families without running water. When expenditure was expressed as percentage of income or as the amount of working time to pay for water, the differences were even greater: 2.6% to 2.7% vs 0.4% to 0.7% and 423 to 445 vs 71 to 129 minutes/month.