Prospects for better nutrition in India.

Being home to 31% of the world's children who are stunted and 42% of those who are underweight, and with many children and adults affected by micronutrient deficiencies, India is facing huge challenges in the field of nutrition. Even though the Indian Government is investing vast amounts of money into programs that aim to enhance food security, health and nutrition (the Integrated Child Development Services program alone costs 3 billion USD per year), overall impact has been rather disappointing. However, there are some bright spots on the horizon.

Treatment of moderate acute malnutrition with ready-to-use supplementary food results in higher overall recovery rates compared with a corn-soya blend in children in southern Ethiopia: an operations research trial.

Background: Moderate and severe acute malnutrition affects 13% of children <5 y of age worldwide. Severe acute malnutrition affects fewer children but is associated with higher rates of mortality and morbidity. Supplementary feeding programs aim to treat moderate acute malnutrition and prevent the deterioration to severe acute malnutrition.

Can multi-micronutrient food fortification improve the micronutrient status, growth, health, and cognition of schoolchildren? A systematic review.

Micronutrient deficiencies compromise the health and development of many school-age children worldwide. Previous research suggests that micronutrient interventions might benefit the health and development of school-age children and that multiple micronutrients might be more effective than single micronutrients. Fortification of food is a practical way to provide extra micronutrients to children.

The nutritional status of school-aged children: why should we care?

Background: The nutritional status of school-aged children impacts their health, cognition, and subsequently their educational achievement. The school is an opportune setting to provide health and nutrition services to disadvantaged children. Yet, school-aged children are not commonly included in health and nutrition surveys.

Quality criteria for micronutrient powder products: report of a meeting organized by the World Food Programme and Sprinkles Global Health Initiative.

Distribution of micronutrient powder (MNP), also known as Sprinkles", is becoming a preferred strategy for addressing micronutrient deficiencies. In response, different formulations are being developed, different producers manufacture MNP and several organizations coordinate distribution. However, as yet, the supply of MNP as well as experience with large-scale MNP programs is limited.

Maize meal fortification is associated with improved vitamin A and iron status in adolescents and reduced childhood anaemia in a food aid-dependent refugee population.

Objective: To assess changes in the Fe and vitamin A status of the population of Nangweshi refugee camp associated with the introduction of maize meal fortification.

Design: Pre- and post-intervention study using a longitudinal cohort.

Setting: Nangweshi refugee camp, Zambia.

Fortifying food in the field to boost nutrition: case studies from Afghanistan, Angola, and Zambia.

Deficiencies in micronutrients such as iron, vitamin A, and iodine affect billions of people worldwide, causing death, disease, and disability. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has long been recognised for its ability to deliver food to some of the most remote locations, under the toughest conditions: refugees in border camps, populations cut off by conflict, extremely poor and marginalised people like ethnic minorities, orphans, and widows. Relatively little, however, is known about its efforts to ensure that the food it delivers not only provides enough calories for immediate survival but also provides the vitamins and minerals needed for healthy growth and development.

Whole blood NAD and NADP concentrations are not depressed in subjects with clinical pellagra.

Population surveys for niacin deficiency are normally based on clinical signs or on biochemical measurements of urinary niacin metabolites. Status may also be determined by measurement of whole blood NAD and NADP concentrations. To compare these methods, whole blood samples and spot urine samples were collected from healthy subjects (n = 2) consuming a western diet, from patients (n = 34) diagnosed with pellagra and attending a pellagra clinic in Kuito (central Angola, where niacin deficiency is endemic), and from female community control subjects (n = 107) who had no clinical signs of pellagra.

Low and deficient niacin status and pellagra are endemic in postwar Angola.

Background: Outbreaks of pellagra were documented during the civil war in Angola, but no contemporary data on the incidence of pellagra or the prevalence of niacin deficiency were available.

Objective: The objective was to investigate the incidence of pellagra and the prevalence of niacin deficiency in postwar Angola and their relation with dietary intake, poverty, and anthropometric status.

Design: Admissions data from 1999 to 2004 from the pellagra treatment clinic in Kuito, Angola, were analyzed.