Your browser doesn't support javascript.
loading
Show: 20 | 50 | 100
Results 1 - 6 de 6
Filter
1.
Matern Child Health J ; 15(8): 1372-80, 2011 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-20859760

ABSTRACT

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) references were used to analyse anthropometric data from the 1999 National Food Consumption Survey (NFCS) of South Africa. Since then, however, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2000 reference and the World Health Organization (WHO) 2006 standards were released. It was anticipated that these reference and standards may lead to differences in the previous estimates of stunting, wasting, underweight and obesity in the study population. The aim was to compare the anthropometric status of children using the 1977 NCHS, the 2000 CDC growth references and the 2006 WHO standards. All children 12-60 months of age with a complete set of anthropometric data were included in the analyses. Data for 1,512 children were analysed with SAS 9.1 for Windows. A Z-score was calculated for each child for weight-for-age (W/A), weight-for-length/height (W/H), length/height-for-age (H/A) and body mass index (BMI)-for-age, using each of the three reference or standards for comparison. The prevalence of stunting, obesity and overweight were significantly higher and the prevalence of underweight and wasting were lower when using the WHO standards compared to the NCHS and the CDC references. The higher than previously established prevalence of stunting at 20.1% and combined overweight/obesity at 30% poses a challenge to South African policy makers to implement nutrition programmes to decrease the prevalence of both stunting and overweight. The 2006 WHO growth standard should be the standard used for assessment of growth of infants and children younger than 5 years in developing countries.


Subject(s)
Anthropometry , Child Development/physiology , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Nutrition Surveys , Obesity/diagnosis , Overweight/diagnosis , Reference Standards , South Africa
2.
J Hum Nutr Diet ; 22(6): 528-35, 2009 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-19788709

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to directly assess and compare the usage, benefits and side-effects of dietary-related complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among adult cancer patients and non-cancer adults in Norwich, UK. METHODS: Self-administered questionnaires were completed by 98 cancer patients and 92 non-cancer adults to compare demographics, types of CAM usage with reasons, benefits, side-effects and CAM information sources. The groups were matched for gender, age, marital status, education and household income. The mean ages were 62.7 and 59.7 years, respectively, with slightly more female than male participants. RESULTS: CAM use was high in both groups (47% in cancer and 53% in non-cancer respondents, P > 0.05). The most widely-used diet-related CAM among both groups was the large intake of fruit, vegetables and juice, multivitamins, fish oils and glucosamine. Fish oil intake was significantly higher in the non-cancer group (P < 0.05), whereas selenium and beta-carotene supplements were significantly higher in the cancer group (P < 0.01 and P = 0.02, respectively). The main reasons for using CAM were to boost the immune system and to improve quality of life (P > 0.05). Reported benefits included increased optimism and hope for the cancer group and increased optimism and pain relief for the non-cancer group. CONCLUSIONS: Diet-related CAM is used frequently by both cancer patients and non-cancer adults, with many reported benefits and few reported side-effects. Significant differences between the groups included a higher prevalence of fish oil used by the non-cancer group, and a higher use of selenium and beta-carotene supplements in the cancer group.


Subject(s)
Complementary Therapies/statistics & numerical data , Diet , Micronutrients/therapeutic use , Neoplasms/diet therapy , Aged , Case-Control Studies , Dietary Supplements/statistics & numerical data , Female , Functional Food , Health Care Surveys , Humans , Immune System , Male , Mental Health , Middle Aged , Neoplasms/therapy , Pain/diet therapy , Quality of Life , Reference Values , Surveys and Questionnaires , United Kingdom
3.
S. Afr. j. clin. nutr. (Online) ; 21(1): 34-38, 2008.
Article in English | AIM (Africa) | ID: biblio-1270481

ABSTRACT

Aim: To determine the comprehensibility of the preliminary paediatric food-based dietary guidelines (PFBDG) for infants younger than 6 months in South Africa.Methods: This qualitative study used focus group discussions held in the Western Cape to evaluate the comprehensibility and the understandability of the preliminary PFBDG. Groups were convened according to area of residence (rural; urban formal and urban informal) and ethnicity (white; coloured and black) to reflect the Western Cape population. Focus group discussions were conducted in the participant's home language; namely Afrikaans; eng or Xhosa. The purposive sample included 89 women with infants younger than 6 months divided in 20 groups.Results: In general; mothers understood the guidelines and could reportedly implement them; but constraints such as having to go back to work; being tired and not having enough breast-milk were volunteered. There were very few problems regarding the PFBDG terminology except with the word 'regularly' in the context of the oral hygiene guideline. With regard to the breast-feeding guideline there was some confusion over whether other foods could be included while breast-feeding. Suggestions were made to include 'only' in the breast-feeding guideline. Some of the participants did not know anything about cleaning the infant's mouth; and suggested it be changed to the overall hygiene of the infant. Conclusion: The findings from this study indicate that it may be possible to use one set of dietary guidelines for infants younger than 6 months for all ethnic groups living in the Western Cape; provided that these guidelines are accompanied by supportive documentation citing examples and reasons for the implementation of the guidelines. ecommendations were made for the PFBDG Work Group to revise the preliminary PFBDG for infants younger than 6 months for implementation and further action


Subject(s)
Breast Feeding , Guideline , Infant
4.
S Afr Med J ; 92(1): 68-74, 2002 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11936022

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of renal transplantation on the nutritional status of patients. DESIGN: Prospective descriptive study. SETTING: Renal Transplant Clinic at Tygerberg Hospital, Western Cape. SUBJECTS: Fifty-eight renal transplant patients from Tygerberg Hospital were enrolled in the study. The sample was divided into two groups of 29 patients each: group 1, less than 28 months post-transplant; and group 2, more than 28 months post-transplant. OUTCOME MEASURES: Nutritional status assessment comprised biochemical evaluation, a dietary history, anthropometric measurements and a clinical examination. RESULTS: Serum vitamin B6 levels were below normal in 56% of patients from group 1 and 59% from group 2. Vitamin B6 intake, however, was insufficient in only 14% of patients from group 1 and 10% from group 2. Serum vitamin C levels were below normal in 7% of patients from group 1 and 24% from group 2, while vitamin C intake was insufficient in 21% and 14% of patients from groups 1 and 2 respectively. Serum magnesium levels were below normal in 55% of patients from group 1, and in 28% from group 2. Serum albumin and cholesterol levels increased significantly during the post-transplant period in the total sample (P = 0.0001). There was also a significant increase in body mass index (P = 0.0001) during the post-transplant period. CONCLUSIONS: Several nutritional abnormalities were observed, which primarily reflect the side-effects of immunosuppressive therapy. The causes, consequences and treatment of the vitamin B6 and vitamin C deficiencies in renal transplant recipients need further investigation.


Subject(s)
Kidney Transplantation/physiology , Nutrition Disorders/physiopathology , Nutritional Status/physiology , Adult , Blood Chemical Analysis , Body Mass Index , Diet , Female , Humans , Kidney Transplantation/adverse effects , Male , Middle Aged , Nutrition Disorders/blood , Nutrition Disorders/etiology , Pilot Projects , Prospective Studies , Time Factors
5.
S Afr Med J ; 85(5): 361-5, 1995 May.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-7638685

ABSTRACT

Twenty-two patients with chronic renal failure were randomly assigned to a conventional low-protein diet containing 0.6 g protein/kg/day or a very-low-protein diet containing 0.4 g protein/kg/day supplemented with essential amino acids; they were followed up for 9 months. There were no significant changes in body mass index, arm muscle area, percentage body fat, serum albumin and transferrin levels in any of the groups; neither was there any difference between the groups in respect of these parameters. Renal function, as measured by the reciprocal of serum creatinine over time, stabilised in both groups during intervention, with no significant difference between the groups. There was however no correlation between changes in renal function and changes in blood pressure, or dietary intake of protein, phosphorus, cholesterol, polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids. There were also no significant changes and no significant differences between the groups in serum levels of parathyroid hormone and alkaline phosphatase, urine cyclic adenosine monophosphate, tubular reabsorption of phosphate, and the theoretical renal threshold for phosphate. The results of this study suggest that the supplemented very-low-protein diet was not superior to the conventional low-protein diet in terms of its effect on protein-energy status, renal function and biochemical parameters of renal osteodystrophy.


Subject(s)
Amino Acids, Essential/administration & dosage , Diet, Protein-Restricted , Kidney Failure, Chronic/diet therapy , Adult , Aged , Cholesterol/blood , Fatty Acids/blood , Female , Food, Fortified , Humans , Kidney Failure, Chronic/physiopathology , Kidney Function Tests , Male , Middle Aged , Nutritional Status , Phosphates/blood
SELECTION OF CITATIONS
SEARCH DETAIL
...