Summary Of Katherine A. Dettwyler's Dancing Skeletons

Malnutrition is the lack of proper nutrition; it is caused by not having enough to eat, not eating enough of the right foods with the correct vitamins and nutrients, or not being able to absorb nutrients from foods being eaten. In the United States of America, malnutrition is not common due to not only the availability of modern medicine and knowledgeable doctors, but also because of government enforced laws of supplementation in certain common foods. Because of this, Americans typically overlook the widespread problem of malnutrition in developing countries. In parts of the world, such as West Africa, it is very common for most individuals in a community to be malnourished in some way. Because there are so many aspects of a healthy diet, it

Dettwyler shares her experiences from her time spent researching malnutrition in a West African country called Mali. While she was there, Katherine researched, studied, and observed many aspects of health in Southern Mali, one of them being iodine deficiency. Iodine is “…an essential nutrient needed by the body for proper brain growth and development and hormonal functioning” (Dettwyler 108). It is also needed for metabolism, or the process of converting food to energy. Iodine deficiency is most commonly found in areas where there is low iodine content in the soil, which leads crops to be low in iodine content. Because of this, the deficiency is typically common in specific areas and communities, rather than being prevalent overall in a country since soil content and quality varies. This is the reason why Katherine A. Dettwyler found that iodine deficiency was very recurrent in the village of Dogo, rather than in all of southern Mali. Because of females’ need for more iodine than males, Dettwyler also found that the condition was more common in women than in men. Iodine deficiency can begin at a young age; however, unlike many other nutrient deficiencies, it takes many years to become visually