Breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices in a Swaziland population.

Before construction of the Maguga Dam near Pigs Peak in Swaziland commenced, a baseline cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the nutritional status of the population a part of a health status survey. In this article we report the breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices of children younger than two years of age. The study population consisted of people living in three areas, which are likely to be affected by the construction of the Maguga Dam in Swaziland, and two areas approximately 150km away, which were selected because of socio-economic and demographic similarities.

A model for community-based growth monitoring system.

Acting on a request form the community of Ndunakazi, a rural area bordering the Valley of a Thousand Hills, Kwa Zulu-Natal, South Africa, a comprehensive situation analysis was conducted. The results were used in an objective orientated programme planning approach, during a workshop attended by community representatives. One of the outcomes was the establishment of a model for a community-based growth and health monitoring system for pre-school children.

The targeting of nutritionally at-risk children attending a primary health care facility in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the practices of primary health care (PHC) nurses in targeting nutritionally at-risk infants and children for intervention at a PHC facility in a peri-urban area of the Western Cape Province of South Africa.

Methodology: Nutritional risk status of infants and children <6 years of age was based on criteria specified in standardised nutrition case management guidelines developed for PHC facilities in the province. Children were identified as being nutritionally at-risk if their weight was below the 3rd centile, their birth weight was less than 2500 g, and their growth curve showed flattening or dropping off for at least two consecutive monthly visits.

Effect of a fortified maize-meal porridge on anemia, micronutrient status, and motor development of infants.

Background: Maize-meal porridge is used for infant feeding in many African countries, including South Africa. A low-cost, finely milled, maize-meal porridge was fortified with beta-carotene, iron, and zinc (100% of recommended dietary allowance), as well as ascorbic acid, copper, selenium, riboflavin, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12, and vitamin E.

Objective: We assessed whether the fortified porridge could reduce anemia and improve the micronutrient status and motor development of infants.

Is there an association between the nutritional status of the mother and that of her 2-year-old to 5-year-old child?

The aim of this study was to determine whether there is an association between the nutritional status of the mother and that of her 2-year-old to 5-year-old child in a rural village in South Africa where there is a high prevalence of childhood malnutrition (in particular, deficiencies of vitamin A and iron) and of maternal obesity. A blood sample and anthropometric measurements were obtained for 118 child-mother pairs. There was a positive mother-child correlation for serum ferritin (R=0.

Beta-carotene-rich orange-fleshed sweet potato improves the vitamin A status of primary school children assessed with the modified-relative-dose-response test.

Background: Beta-carotene-rich orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) is an excellent source of provitamin A. In many developing countries, sweet potato is a secondary staple food and may play a role in controlling vitamin A deficiency.

Objective: The objective was to determine the efficacy of daily consumption of boiled and mashed OFSP in improving the vitamin A status of primary school children.

Efficacy of multiple micronutrient supplementation for improving anemia, micronutrient status, and growth in South African infants.

Growth faltering, anemia, and multiple micronutrient deficiency are common during infancy in developing countries. This South African trial was part of a multicenter study aimed at testing the efficacy of multiple micronutrient supplementation on growth, anemia, micronutrient status, and morbidity during infancy across 4 countries. A total of 265 infants aged 6-12 mo were individually randomized to 1 of 4 intervention groups: a daily multiple micronutrient supplement (DMM), a daily placebo supplement (P); a multiple micronutrient supplement 1 d of the week and placebo supplement on the other days of the week (WMM), and a daily iron supplement (DI).

Efficacy of a foodlet-based multiple micronutrient supplement for preventing growth faltering, anemia, and micronutrient deficiency of infants: the four country IRIS trial pooled data analysis.

Diets of infants across the world are commonly deficient in multiple micronutrients during the period of growth faltering and dietary transition from milk to solid foods. A randomized placebo controlled trial was carried out in Indonesia, Peru, South Africa, and Vietnam, using a common protocol to investigate whether improving status for multiple micronutrients prevented growth faltering and anemia during infancy. The results of the pooled data analysis of the 4 countries for growth, anemia, and micronutrient status are reported.

Dietary red palm oil improves reperfusion cardiac function in the isolated perfused rat heart of animals fed a high cholesterol diet.

It has been shown that dietary red palm oil (RPO) supplementation improved reperfusion function. However, no exact protective cellular mechanisms have been established. Our aim was to search for a possible cellular mechanism and a role for fatty acids.

Effects of a prudent diet containing either lean beef and mutton or fish and skinless chicken on the plasma lipoproteins and fatty acid composition of triacylglycerol and cholesteryl ester of hypercholesterolemic subjects.

In this two-phase crossover study, 39 hypercholesterolemic subjects followed a prudent diet with either lean red meat or fish and skinless chicken (treatment groups), and 13 subjects (reference group) followed their habitual diet. Fasting blood samples were analyzed for plasma total cholesterol, triacylglycerol (TAG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein one- and two-cholesterol, apolipoprotein-B, very low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and very low density lipoprotein TAG, and fatty acid composition of plasma TAG and cholesteryl ester (CE). Body mass and blood pressure were determined.

Total antioxidant levels are low during active TB and rise with anti-tuberculosis therapy.

In tuberculosis, oxidative stress is a result of tissue inflammation, poor dietary intake of micronutrients due to illness, free radical burst from activated macrophages, and anti-tuberculosis drugs. These free radicals may in turn contribute towards pulmonary inflammation if not neutralized by antioxidants. The total antioxidant status (TAS) of individuals is a function of dietary, enzymatic, and other systemic antioxidants and is therefore an indicator of the free radical load.

Acceptability of community-based growth monitoring in a rural village in South Africa.

In rural areas, a lack of infrastructure often limits the promotion and implementation of community-based nutrition activities. Growth monitoring can potentially provide a platform for the promotion and implementation of community-based nutrition activities, provided that the growth-monitoring program has a high coverage. The aim of this study was to determine the acceptability of a community-based growth-monitoring project in terms of child attendance and maternal attitude.

IRIS. I: a FOODlet-based multiple-micronutrient intervention in 6- to 12-month-old infants at high risk of micronutrient malnutrition in four contrasting populations: description of a multicenter field trial.

Infants in developing countries are at risk of concurrent micronutrient deficiencies, because the same causative factors may lead to deficiencies of different micronutrients. Inadequate dietary intake is considered one of the major causes of micronutrient deficiencies, especially among poor and underprivileged children in developing countries. Operational strategies and distribution systems are often duplicated when supplementation programs for single micronutrients are implemented at the same time.

A place for palm fruit oil to eliminate vitamin A deficiency.

There is general consensus that food-based approaches are viable and sustainable options for addressing vitamin A deficiency in populations. One such example is the fortification of food which, if properly monitored, could make a significant contribution towards improving the vitamin A status of populations throughout the world. Red palm fruit oil (RPO) with its high content of natural carotenoids, lends itself exceptionally well to this purpose at both household and commercial level.

Iron status of South African women working in a fruit-packing factory.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the iron status, and the risk factors for iron deficiency (ID) and iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA), of non-pregnant adult women working in a fruit-packing factory.

Design: A cross-sectional analytical study was done on 338 women, 18 to 55 years of age. Information on demographic data, risk factors for ID, smoking, and the consumption of red meat, chicken and fish was collected by questionnaire.

The effect of a micronutrient-fortified complementary food on micronutrient status, growth and development of 6- to 12-month-old disadvantaged urban South African infants.

The study was conducted to look at the effectiveness of a multimicronutrient-fortified complementary food on the micronutrient status, linear growth and psychomotor development of 6- to 12-month-old infants from a black urban disadvantaged community in the Western Cape, South Africa. The study was designed as an intervention study. In both the experimental and control groups, serum retinol concentration showed a decline over the intervention period of 6 months.

Effect of palm olein oil in a moderate-fat diet on plasma lipoprotein profile and aortic atherosclerosis in non-human primates.

Several studies have reported on the effect of palm olein oil (PO; palmitic acid content approximately 38%) incorporation into the diet on blood cholesterol concentration. Information on the effect of PO on atherosclerosis is, however, lacking. In vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concen-trations can be modulated by the type and amount of fat in the diet.

Effect of palm olein oil in a moderate-fat diet on low-density lipoprotein composition in non-human primates.

Plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations in vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) can be modulated by the type and amount of fat in the diet. There is, however, a paucity of information on the effect of different types and quantity of dietary fat on the plasma LDL composition in vervets. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of different sources of dietary fat on the concentrations and composition of circulating plasma LDL in vervets consuming moderate-fat diets containing either animal fat, sunflower oil or palm olein.

Home gardens focusing on the production of yellow and dark-green leafy vegetables increase the serum retinol concentrations of 2-5-y-old children in South Africa.

Background: Production of yellow and dark-green leafy vegetables at the household level may provide economically deprived households with direct access to provitamin A-rich foods.

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine whether the dietary intake of yellow and dark-green leafy vegetables and the serum retinol concentrations of children improve with a home-gardening program.

Design: A home-gardening program was integrated with a community-based growth-monitoring system in a rural village.

Disadvantaged black and coloured infants in two urban communities in the Western Cape, South Africa differ in micronutrient status.

Objectives: To determine the nutritional and health status of urban infants in two disadvantaged communities in the Western Cape, South Africa with special reference to micronutrient status. The results of this study will serve to plan an intervention study in these communities in the same age group.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Increased vitamin A intake in children aged 2-5 years through targeted home-gardens in a rural South African community.

Objectives: To determine vitamin A intake of children aged 2-5 years in a rural South African community one year after the implementation of a home-based food production programme targeting beta-carotene-rich fruits and vegetables.

Design: Dietary intake of children aged 2-5 years was determined during a cross-sectional survey before and one year after the implementation of a home-based food production programme.

Setting: A low socio-economic rural African community, approximately 60 km northwest of the coastal city of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Long-term evaluation of a micronutrient-fortified biscuit used for addressing micronutrient deficiencies in primary school children.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term effect on micronutrient status of a beta-carotene-, iron- and iodine-fortified biscuit given to primary school children as school feeding.

Design: Children receiving the fortified biscuit were followed in a longitudinal study for 2.5 years (n = 108); in addition, cross-sectional data from three subsequent surveys conducted in the same school are reported.

Nutritional status and dietary intakes of children aged 2-5 years and their caregivers in a rural South African community.

The objective of this study was to determine the nutritional status regarding vitamin A, iron and anthropometric indices and dietary intakes of children aged 2-5 years and their caregivers in a rural South African community. Micronutrient, haematological, anthropometric and dietary indicators were used to assess nutritional status during a cross-sectional survey. The setting was a low socioeconomic rural African community (Ndunakazi), approximately 60 km northwest of the coastal city of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

The effect of a biscuit with red palm oil as a source of beta-carotene on the vitamin A status of primary school children: a comparison with beta-carotene from a synthetic source in a randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To determine the effect of a biscuit with red palm oil as a source of beta-carotene on the vitamin A status of primary school children and to compare this with the effect of a biscuit with beta-carotene from a synthetic source.

Design: Randomised controlled trial.

Setting: A rural community in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Perceptions of infant cereals and dietary intakes of children aged 4-24 months in a rural South African community.

The objectives of this study were to determine (1) mothers' perceptions on infant cereals, and (2) dietary intakes of children aged 4-24 months in a rural South African community. All mothers/caregivers of preschool children who attended community-based growth monitoring posts during January-March 2000 were interviewed. The setting was a low socioeconomic rural African community (Ndunakazi), approximately 60 km northwest of the coastal city of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.