Dental caries and sucrose intake in five South African preschool groups.

Dental caries, debris (DI-S) and sugar intake were determined for 766 rural Black, urban Black, coloured, Indian and White children, using standardized techniques. In general sucrose intake, both quantity and frequency was low in rural Black children yet these children had relatively few caries-free individuals and higher than expected mean dmft scores. Comparison with earlier studies in the same localities has shown a worsening of dental caries in all groups except the White, in which the situation has improved.

Trends in sugar intake: do these parallel changes in caries prevalence among S. African preschoolchildren?

Mean sugar intake in South Africa has fallen in Black rural groups and remained more or less constant for their urban counterparts; for Indian groups it has risen, but fallen in White groups. The amounts of sugar in mean snack/sweet intakes have not shown the same degree of fall and have remained relatively constant in all but Indian groups where there has been a definite fall in consumption. Caries prevalences (percentages of children with caries) have risen in all but White groups.

Birthweights of babies born at home in a black rural community of Bophuthatswana, southern Africa.

In Africa, data on incidence of babies' low birthweight are based virtually exclusively on information derived from deliveries in hospitals. The incidence of low birthweight is about double that prevailing in developed countries. However, in a rural region in southern Africa, after painstakingly overcoming local strongly entrenched custom, it was found possible to organize the measurement of newborn babies born at home.

The bearing of diverse patterns of diet on growth and menarche in four ethnic groups of South African girls.

Anthropemetric and development studies were made on 4390 black rural and urban, coloured, Indian and white school girls of 6-17 years and a 24-h dietary recall recorded on subsamples. Mean weights and heights of non-white were lower at all ages than those of white girls. Prevalences of obesity (greater than or equal to 120% weight-for-height), were higher in black and coloured than in Indian and white girls, but mean percentage body fat was not significantly different at 17 years.