Nutrient intake among Egyptian elderly living in geriatric homes

This study was done as a part of national survey to assess the nutritional status of elderly population aged 65 years and above. The sample was selected from geriatric homes in different governorates; namely, Cairo, Alexandria, Port-Said, Gharbia, Fayoum and Aswan. The total number of the sample was 876 [328 males and 548 female]. The results showed that underweight was more prevalent among males than females, while the opposite was observed regarding obesity with highly significant difference between both sexes. Data on food consumption were collected using the 24 hours recall method. The results showed that protein and micronutrient consumption were less than their RDA. The shortage from the RDA was observed mostly in antioxidant consumption of both males and females as median values of vitamin E representing 28% and 21.30%, vitamin C [66.7% and 66.71%] and zinc [42.86% and 51.02%] of their standard requirements. The results emphasize the importance of applying better nutritional programs in geriatric homes to improve the quality of life for those sector of the population

Nutritional status of primary school children in Cairo governorate

This study included 180 schoolchildren aged 8-12 years of both sexes selected randomly from primary public schools in the year 2001. Weight for age and height for age indices were used to assess the nutritional status and dietary adequacy. Dietary intake analysis showed that the mean intake of nutrients was low among underweight children compared with the recommended dietary allowance [RDA]. Two thirds of the underweight male children and half of the female consumed from 50% to >75% of their energy RDA. As regards protein consumption, it was found that 50% of the underweight female schoolchildren consumed <75% of RDA. Also, in relation to zinc, the majority of both male [69.3%] and female [68.4%] children consumed <50% of their zinc RDA. The anthropometric measurements of these children showed that stunting affected 8.9% of males and 2.5% of female children. Underweight males and females were almost the same [3% and 2.5%, respectively]