[About Professor AG Steegman & Researcher Timothy Sullivan]

13 April, 2002

Guatemala children adapt to survive

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.

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.

Street school

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."

'Resilient'

"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.