In the 80's the Brazilian economy underwent one of the most severe crises of its history, resulting in the stagnation of the gross national product and inflation rates such as never previously reported. Despite this unfavorable scenario social indicators have presented a positive evolution. This work shows that although the Brazilian family has adopted the over-use of the family work force as a strategy for facing this crisis on the work market, the evolution of both income and poverty in that period were poor. The increase of expenses and the transformation of the forms of implementation of public policy in the health and nutrition areas are shown to be decisive factors in the performance of social indicators.