Post-menopausal women also deserve greater nutritional protection as they continue to participate in the labour force, and because appropriate measures could prevent debility due to chronic diseases. The nutritional handicap accumulated in the life of a woman is passed on to the next generation through low birth weight, which considerably reduces survival and jeopardizes growth. In essence, small mothers give birth to small babies, who grow into small mothers. The cycle turns with the realization that the plight of young girls is inseparable from that of their mothers. The synergistic effects of gender and poverty on nutrition are discussed in the papers by McGuire and Popkin and by Chatterjee and Lambert.
Women are over-represented among the poor.
Poverty is associated with higher female employment but lower income, with greater drudgery in domestic work but lower access to support services, and with high fertility. All these contribute to poorer nutrition and health status of families. However, even among the poor, different groups of women are affected differently by macro development policies, such as the commercialization of agriculture or family planning. Women in urban areas may be more disadvantaged than rural women because of the lack of traditional support systems. Programmes must harness these strengths and build upon them, reaching women through organization, mobilization, and communication.