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

ABSTRACT

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