Dietitians in South Africa require more competencies in public health nutrition and management to address the nutritional needs of South Africans.

The aim of this study was to determine whether dietitians in South Africa are competent to meet the requirements of working in a health care setting during a compulsory one-year community service (CS) program immediately after receiving their degree. A national survey was conducted using questionnaires to illicit information from dietitians on their training and competencies. In 2009, data were collected from both community service dietitians (CSDs) participating in community service programs in primary, secondary and tertiary health care centers in all provinces of South Africa, as well as from their provincial managers (nutrition coordinators).

Challenges for efficient health service delivery: experiences of dietitians completing their compulsory community service year in South Africa.

Objective: To evaluate the successes and shortcomings of the community service programme implemented by the Department of Health (DOH) in South Africa by evaluating community service dietitians' experiences and challenges during the 2009 community service year.

Design: The study employed both quantitative and qualitative research designs. A national survey was conducted using a questionnaire to illicit information on community service dietitians' working environments and the challenges they experienced.

Assessment of the sustainability of the iodine-deficiency disorders control program in Lesotho.

Background: Evaluation of the sustainability of iodine-deficiency disorders control programs guarantees successful and sustained virtual elimination of iodine deficiency. The Lesotho universal salt iodization legislation was enacted in 2000 as an iodine-deficiency disorders control program and has never been evaluated.

Objectives: To assess the sustainability of the salt iodization program in Lesotho, 2 years after promulgation of the universal salt iodization legislation.

The National Food Consumption Survey (NFCS): South Africa, 1999.

Objective: The aim of the National Food Consumption Survey (NFCS) in South Africa was to determine the nutrient intakes and anthropometric status of children (1-9 years old), as well as factors that influence their dietary intake.

Design: This was a cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of all children aged 1-9 years in South Africa. A nationally representative sample with provincial representation was selected using 1996 Census information.

Iodine content of salt 2 years after the introduction of the universal salt iodisation legislation in Lesotho.

The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of the universal salt iodisation legislation on I levels of salt at household, retail and entry level in Lesotho. We used a multistage proportion to population size method to select thirty-one clusters from all the districts and ecological zones of Lesotho. In each cluster, thirty households were randomly selected and salt samples were collected.

Iodine status as determined by urinary iodine excretion in Lesotho two years after introducing legislation on universal salt iodization.

Objective: Mild to severe iodine deficiency has been documented in Lesotho since 1960. To eliminate the persisting iodine deficiency, legislation on universal salt iodization was introduced in 2000 as a long-term public health intervention strategy. We assessed the urinary iodine status of school children and women of child-bearing age in Lesotho 2 y after the introduction of legislation on universal salt iodization.

Prevalence of goitre and urinary iodine status of primary-school children in Lesotho.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of goitre, urinary iodine status, coverage of supplementation of iodized oil capsules, and current use of iodized salt in children in Lesotho.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of children from 50 primary schools in Lesotho. Thyroid glands of children aged 8-12 years were measured by palpation and graded according to the WHO, UNICEF, and the International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency's (ICCIDD) joint criteria.

The impact of a nutrition education programme on the anthropometric nutritional status of low-income children in South Africa.

Objective: The study determined the impact of a community-based nutrition education programme, using trained community nutrition advisors, on the anthropometric nutritional status of mixed-race children aged between 2 and 5 years.

Design And Setting: The programme was implemented over two years in four study areas in the Free State and Northern Cape Provinces. Two control areas were included to differentiate between the effect of the education programme and a food aid programme that were implemented simultaneously.

Keloids in rural black South Africans. Part 2: dietary fatty acid intake and total phospholipid fatty acid profile in the blood of keloid patients.

In the second part of this study, emphasis is placed on nutritional intakes (fatty acids and micronutrients) and fatty acid intake and metabolism in the blood, respectively, according to a combined 24 h recall and standardized food frequency questionnaire analyses of keloid prone patients (n=10), compared with normal black South Africans (n=80), and total phospholipid blood (plasma and red blood cell ) analyses of keloid patients (n=20), compared with normal individuals (n=20). Lipid extraction and fractionation by standard procedures, total phospholipid (TPL) separation with thin layer chromatography, and fatty acid methyl ester analyses with gas liquid chromatography techniques were used. Since nutrition may play a role in several disease disorders, the purpose of this study was to confirm or refute a role for essential fatty acids (EFAs) in the hypothesis of keloid formations stated in part 1 of this study.

Nutritional status of preschool children in informal settlement areas near Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Objective: To determine the nutritional status and household resources of preschool children.

Design: A cross-sectional survey.

Setting: : Two informal settlement areas, Joe Slovo (JS) and JB Mafora (JBM) in Mangaung, near Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Nutritional status of HIV-1 seropositive patients in the Free State Province of South Africa: anthropometric and dietary profile.

Objective: To evaluate the nutritional intake and status of HIV-1 seropositive patients, as well as the relationship between malnutrition and disease stage.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Settings: The Immunology Clinic at the Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Nutritional status of HIV-1 seropositive patients in the Free State Province of South Africa--laboratory parameters.

Objective: To evaluate the nutritional status of HIV-1 seropositive patients with regards to laboratory parameters; the correlation between nutrient intake and actual values of nutrients, as well as the relationship between malnutrition and disease progression.

Design: A cross sectional study.

Setting: The Immunology Clinic at the Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Preoperative nutritional status and prognostic nutritional index in patients with benign disease undergoing abdominal operations--Part II.

Objectives: Part II of this study was undertaken to develop a prognostic nutritional index for the identification of high risk patients with benign disease undergoing abdominal operations at the Universitas Hospital in Bloemfontein.

Methods: To accomplish this goal, 52 consecutive adult non-cancer surgical patients, admitted to the Universitas Hospital for a period of one year, were studied prospectively. The postoperative outcome was monitored until discharge or death.

Preoperative nutritional status and prognostic nutritional index in patients with benign disease undergoing abdominal operations--Part I.

Objective: The aim of the first part of this study was to detect the incidence of preoperative malnutrition of clinical importance in patients with benign disease.

Methods: The preoperative nutritional status of 52 consecutive adult patients undergoing abdominal operations for benign conditions was studied prospectively by objective and subjective nutritional criteria. The postoperative outcome was monitored until discharge or death.

Effects of a low-insulin-response, energy-restricted diet on weight loss and plasma insulin concentrations in hyperinsulinemic obese females.

The effects of two low-energy diets on serum insulin concentrations and weight loss in obese hyperinsulinemic females were compared during a 12-wk period. The first diet (n = 15) was designed to evoke a low insulin response (ID), and the second (n = 15) was a conventionally balanced diet (ND). After a 12-wk washout period, seven and nine subjects who had been on the ID and ND, respectively, changed to the alternative diet for 12 wk.