Microbiological impressions of teeth, saliva and dietary fibre can predict caries activity.

Objectives: Mutans streptococci and Lactobacilli on impressions of teeth and caries tests were used to identify caries prone subjects.

Methods: Twenty-seven dental students were examined for caries initially and after 4 years. At the initial examination plaque index; saliva flow, buffering capacity and lysozyme; sucrose and fibre consumption; Lactobacilli and mutans streptococci in saliva and on alginate impressions were measured.

Variety and total number of food items recorded by a true longitudinal group of urban black South African children at five interceptions between 1995 and 2003: the Birth-to-Twenty (Bt20) Study.

Objective: To report on the variety and total number of food items recorded by a true longitudinal group of urban black South African children (n = 143) from the Birth-to-Twenty Study at five interceptions at the ages of 5 (1995), 7 (1997), 9 (1999), 10 (2000) and 13 (2003) years, respectively.

Methods: Dietary intake was assessed using a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire. Frequencies were calculated per week, for each interception and for all five interceptions combined, using SAS.

Energy, macro- and micronutrient intake among a true longitudinal group of South African adolescents at two interceptions (2000 and 2003): the Birth-to-Twenty (Bt20) Study.

Objective: This study reports on the energy, macro- and micronutrient intakes of a true longitudinal group of 143 urban black South African children from the Birth-to-Twenty (Bt20) study at two interceptions (2000 and 2003) when they were 10 and 13 years old, respectively.

Methods: Subjects resided in the urban Johannesburg/Soweto area of the Gauteng Province in South Africa. Dietary intake was assessed using a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire.

How well do adolescents determine portion sizes of foods and beverages?

In the present study, we examined how well adolescents (12-13 years) are able to select the correct dietary aid portion sizes after having been shown different food items. We also evaluated the effectiveness of two-dimensional life-size drawings and three-dimensional food models, used as dietary aids in this process. Fifty black children and 42 white children from Johannesburg participated in the study (N = 92).

Eating attitudes in a group of 11-year-old urban South African girls.

OBJECTIVES: To explore and describe eating attitudes in early pubertal 11-year-old black and white South African girls in an urban environment undergoing transition. DESIGN: The study was designed as a cross-sectional baseline initiative within a longitudinal study. SUBJECTS: Two hundred and two subjects were randomly selected; 54 were white and 148 black.