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Dietary intake in an urban African population in South Africa, with special reference to the nutrition transitionBourne, Lesley Thelma January 1996 (has links)
An assessment of the nutritional status of a representative sample of an urban African population has not previously been conducted, nor the extent to which the traditional diet has been abandoned for a western diet. To meet this end, a cross-sectional analytic study was carried out on a representative sample (N=1146) of the urban African population, aged 3 - 64 years in 1990. Particular attention was paid to specific at-risk groups viz. preschoolers (aged 3 - 6 years; N=163), adolescents (aged 15 - 18 years; N=119) and adults (19 - 44 years; N=649). The interrelationships of dietary intake with socio-economic status, demographic indicators as well as measures of urban exposure were also examined. A further aim was to determine the extent to which this rapidly urbanising population ' s macronutrient profile had shifted from a traditional towards a western atherogenic dietary pattern. This analytic study was nested in a community-based descriptive survey on risk factors for cardiovascular disease. A multi-staged, proportional sampling strategy was used. Quotas were used in the final stage of sampling, based on the age/sex distribution of a 1988 census conducted by the local authorities. Dietary data were collected by means of the 24-hour recall method, by Xhosa -speaking registered nurses who had received intensive training. Anthropometric measurements were taken, and blood samples were drawn according to standard procedures. Socio-demographic questions elicited information on the physical environment and facilities, educational level and employment status. Information was also elicited regarding urban exposure relating to lifetime migration history, thus incorporating retrospective temporality into the study des ign. From these data, an index of urban exposure was established by calculating the percentage of life spent in an urban environment. Univariate analyses of dietary, anthropometric and biochemical vitamin status were used for the descriptive components of the study of the three specific at-risk age categories. Bivariate analyses examined the effects of selected proxies of socio-economic status, and urban exposure on dietary intake. Finally, multiple linear regressions were performed on the preschoolers (N=163) and adult sample, aged 15 - 64 years (N=983) incorporating additional indicators of socio-economic status as predictors, and dietary intake data as outcome measures. Correspondence analysis further explored the relationships between dietary atherogenicity (using the Keys score) and other risk factors for degenerative disease.
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A nutritional and socio-economic study of Philippi farm children and their mothers during November 1986Whittaker, Stuart January 1987 (has links)
A community based survey to determine the nutritional status using anthropometric methods, of children and mothers and to assess certain socio-economic factors was carried out during November and December 1986 in Philippi, a predominantly vegetable farming area. Twenty-one (43%) of the 49 vegetable farms which were included in the study were selected by stratified random sampling. All children in the 0-6 year age group and their parents on the selected farms were included in the sample which consisted of 129 children and 212 parents. Questionnaires were administered and subjects' weights and heights were measured. It was found that 47% of children were below the National Centre for Health Statistics 5th percentile weight for age and 58% were under the 5th percentile height for age. There were 47 child deaths out of 279 births over a six-year period, thirty-four of which had occurred in the first year of life. Twenty eight percent of children had a birth weight of less than 2.5 kg. The number of cases of tuberculosis (10%) and severe diarrhoea (31%) contracted within the first year of life is unacceptably high. Twenty four percent of mothers were malnourished in terms of body mass index and fifty five percent of mothers were illiterate. Fifty nine percent of mothers were regular farm workers who worked for an average of 10.2 hours per day and a wage of R0.44 per hour. Grossly inadequate facilities existed for the care of children while the mothers worked. The average amount spent on food was insufficient to maintain normal nutrition. Although 91.5% of mothers breast fed their children and fed for a mean duration of 13.4 months, breast feeding was not exclusive. Supplementary feeding was introduced on average at 3 months of age. The long working hours of working mothers made it difficult for them to breast feed their children satisfactorily. Acceptance of the family planning services was high and immunisation cover was good. These statistics reflect the effects of extreme poverty and neglect of a community which is totally reliant on its employers for its livelihood. The parents poor educational level, coupled with their meagre financial and other physical resources gives them and their children little opportunity to improve their station in life and leaves them open to the scrounge of malnutrition and disease. Similarly, the dearth of educational and other child care facilities will ensure that this disastrous trend continues. A multidisciplinary approach, including active community involvement of both farmers and workers, to the many physical and social problems is urgently needed if the unacceptable human suffering is to be stopped.
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