Contribution of School Lunchboxes to the Daily Food Intake of Adolescent girls in Durban

Objective. To determine the contribution of school lunchboxes to the daily food intake of adolescent girls in a school in an informal settlement in Durban; South Africa.Methods. The study was conducted among a group of 61 secondary schoolgirls aged 13 - 18 years. Two 24-hour recall questionnaires were completed during an interview with participants to gather data on dietary patterns over a period of two consecutive days. The researcher weighed and recorded the contents of randomly selected lunchboxes.Results. The lunchboxes contributed one-third of the daily nutrient intake of the children. The 24-hour recall and lunchbox content data revealed an energy-dense; carbohydrate-based diet. The contribution of total fat (34.04) to the total energy intake of the girls was higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of 15 - 30. The daily fruit and vegetable intake (87.95 g and 83.97 g according to 24-hour recall and lunchbox analysis; respectively) was insufficient compared with the WHO-recommended intake of 400 g/day. Although the mean intake of most of the nutrients was sufficient; a large number of the girls did not receive the daily requirements for this age group.Conclusion. The results of the study indicated a high-fat diet low in fruits and vegetables. The majority of respondents consumed carbohydrate-based food items and their lunchbox contents did not meet the basic requirements of a balanced diet. Although increased dietary needs are seldom met in adolescents; overweight is an emerging problem among young people in both low- and high-income countries. Nutrition education in this age group should concentrate on healthy food choices in school lunchboxes; as school children can spend up to 8 hours a day at school

The Impact of a Nutrition Programme on the Dietary Intake Patterns of Primary School Children

Objective: The aim of this study was to improve the dietary intake patterns and food choices of children aged 9-13 years in a periurban community.Methods: Two schools were randomly selected from within this periurban community. A nutrition education programme was implemented over one school term; with the testing of nutrition knowledge occurring pre- and post-intervention; and in the long term; with the experimental group only. A validated 24-hour recall questionnaire was completed pre- and post-intervention by both the control (n = 91) and experimental groups (n = 81); and in the long term; by the experimental group. Food models were used to assist in the estimation of portion sizes and identification of food items. The questionnaire was analysed using the computer software programme FoodFinder 3; with means and standard deviations calculated for macro- and micronutrients; and comparisons made with dietary reference intakes for specific age groups. A list was drawn up of the 20 most commonly consumed food items; based on weights consumed. Paired t-tests were conducted to assess significance in dietary intake and food choices after the intervention. Correlations between knowledge and dietary choices were determined among the experimental group in the long-term measurements.Results: Correlations linked protein intake to knowledge of proteins; and vitamin C intake to knowledge of fruit and vegetables. Fruit and vegetable intake remained very low. Refined sugars and fat were still consumed among the experimental group. The diet for both groups was based on carbohydrates.Conclusions: The objective of changing the dietary intake patterns of the children was not achieved. The intake of legumes; fruit and vegetables remained low. The lack of variety in intake results in a diet that does not meet the daily requirements of children

Dietary Fat Intake and Nutritional Status Indicators of Primary School Children in a Low-Income Informal Settlement in the Vaal Region

Background: The objective of this study was to examine growth indicators; serum cholesterol; high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglyceride levels; as well as dietary fat intakes usually associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in healthy primary school children.Method: The respondents in this study included a convenience sample of 97 primary school children aged 6-13 years from a selected school. Anthropometric measurements (weight and height) and three 24-hour recall questionnaires were completed for each child. Registered nurses drew blood from the vena cephalica of seated children after an eight-hour fast.Results: The results of this study indicated that stunting; underweight and thinness were prevalent in this group of children. The prevalence rate for stunting (12.5) was lower than the national prevalence rate of 20; whereas the prevalence rate for underweight (15.1) was higher than the national prevalence rate of 10. Overweight was prevalent in only 1 of the sample; and more so in boys (2.3) than girls (0). None of the children in this study were obese. Serum cholesterol; HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels were within the normal range. However; the mean serum LDL cholesterol levels were very high. The total dietary fat intakes showed significant relationships with total dietary cholesterol (r = 0.324; p-value = 0.001); linolenic acid (r = 0.605; p-value 0.0001) and linoleic acid (r