The effects of nutrition and health education on the nutritional status of internally displaced schoolchildren in Cameroon: a randomised controlled trial.

Lack of nutrition knowledge and poor dietary practices have profound adverse implications on nutritional status particularly among displaced children. Evidence of the effectiveness of nutrition education interventions in improving the nutritional status of internally displaced schoolchildren in Cameroon is scarce. The study objective was to assess the effects of nutrition education on the nutritional status of internally displaced schoolchildren in the West and Littoral Regions of Cameroon. A pre-test-post-test randomised experimental study design was used with an experimental and control group of 160 children from ten primary schools and their caregivers. Anthropometric, biochemical, and clinical signs of malnutrition, dietary, and health status of the children were evaluated, and the caregiver's nutrition knowledge was assessed in both groups at baseline and end-line with the aid of standard anthropometric and biochemical equipment and recorded in pretested questionnaires. Nutrition education was carried out only with the caregivers of children in the test group. In the test group, significant beneficial outcomes were noticed only for Bitot's spot (p = 0.047), pallor (0.025), frequency of consumption of fruits (p = 0.002) and vegetables (p = 0.036), caregiver's nutrition knowledge (p = 0.000), all health-seeking practices of the children (p < 0.05) except immunisation (p = 0.957). No significant change was seen in any of the parameters studied among the participants in the control group. Nutrition education alone was not effective in improving the nutritional status of the children and should be implemented together with other food-based nutrition interventions to improve the nutritional status of internally displaced schoolchildren in the West and Littoral Regions of Cameroon.

Dietary Practices and Nutrient Intake of Internally Displaced School Children in the West Region of Cameroon.

Background and Aims: Poor diets and subsequent malnutrition are among the greatest current societal challenges triggering immense health and economic burden especially among populations that are forcibly displaced. It is indispensable to establish the dietary patterns of any population, especially in displaced populations, in order to develop and effectively implement interventions for the specific population. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess dietary practices and nutrient adequacy of 307 internally displaced pupils aged between 5 and 15 years in the West Region of Cameroon. Pretested, structured interviewer questionnaires were used to collect data on the demographic and socioeconomic status of the children and their caregivers, the nutrition knowledge of caregivers, the dietary practices of the children, dietary diversity, their food sources, and coping strategies that were used during food shortage. SPSS version 23 was used to analyze the data. The dietary diversity of the children was assessed at the individual level using FAO method of assessing women's dietary diversity score. Results: Out of the total 307 children, 148 (48.2%) were boys and 159 (51.8%) were girls. During food shortages, most of the mothers/caregivers (72%) used borrowing as the main auxiliary food source and others (28%) used food as payment for work or begging. A majority of the children (56%) usually ate only two times in a day. Most of the children were of unacceptable or low dietary diversity (66.2%). The most frequently consumed food group was cereals as it was eaten by 21% of the children, seven or more times per week; meanwhile, the least was animal products with only 3% of the children consuming it seven or more times weekly. Their diets were energy-deficient (1640.5 ± 1.64 kcal) and unbalanced with daily inadequate protein (18.45 ± 1.13 g), vitamin A (470.27 ± 1.38 µg), and iron (4.02 ± 0.08 mg) intake. The nutrition knowledge of the mothers/caregivers was poor as less than half (41%) of them had an acceptable nutrition knowledge. Conclusion: The high prevalence of poor dietary patterns and poor nutrition knowledge imposes the necessity of developing nutritional interventions and education strategies aimed at promoting healthy eating habits in the children.

An assessment of the breastfeeding practices in Momo division, North West region of Cameroon.

The aim of this study was to assess maternal breastfeeding practices of children aged 0 to 24 months in Momo Division. It was also to identify the maternal sources of breastfeeding information and determine their impact on maternal breastfeeding decision in this division. Structured interviewer questionnaires were administered to 540 mothers. Among the 540 children included in the study, 77% of them received no prelacteal foods. Despite the fact that 47% of mothers initiated breastfeeding early, only 38% exclusively breastfed their infants for 6 months. Complementary feeding was introduced before the age of 6 months (59.5%). Few infants (2.4%) received complementary feeding later than 6 months. Only 3.1% of the children were breastfed up to two years or beyond. The most common source of breastfeeding information for the mothers is from the family, friends, and neighbors but information from healthcare professionals had the most influential effect on maternal breastfeeding decision. Although a few mothers in Momo Division followed the recommended breastfeeding practices, the breastfeeding practices in this division are generally suboptimal.

Innovation in Tigernut (Cyperus Esculentus L.) Milk Production: In Situ Hydrolysis of Starch.

Tigernut tubers (Cyperus esculentus) are used for the production of vegetable milk, commonly known as "Horchata de chufa" in Spain. The presence of starch in the tuber limits the yield of the milk, since this carbohydrate gelatinizes during the pasteurization of the milk and leads to the considerable solidification of this drink. The present work aims to improve the yields and extraction practice of the milk by an in situ hydrolysis of starch, using exogenous amylases of industrial or vegetable origin. The obtained results show that sprouting improves the extraction yields of tigernut milk, which goes from 50% to about 70%. This improvement in milk yield corresponds to a hydrolysis of about 35% of the starch in the tuber. The use of exogenous amylases leads to starch hydrolysis rates of 45% and 70%, respectively, for amylolytic extracts from sprouted tigernut tubers and amylase, with the corollary of a natural increase in the sweetness of milk. This technical approach makes it possible to produce a naturally sweetened tigernut milk which easily lends itself to pasteurization without a significant increase in viscosity.

Small quantities of carotenoid-rich tropical green leafy vegetables indigenous to Africa maintain vitamin A status in Mongolian gerbils ( Meriones unguiculatus).

Leafy vegetables are important sources of provitamin A carotenoids. Information on their ability to provide vitamin A is often misleading because of the methodology used to assess bioefficacy. Mongolian gerbils were used to evaluate the bioefficacy of provitamin A carotenoids in tropical leafy vegetables (i.e. Solanum nigrum, Moringa oleifera, Vernonia calvoana and Hibiscus cannabinus) that are indigenous to Africa. Gerbils (n 67) were vitamin A-depleted for 5 weeks. After a baseline kill (n 7), the gerbils were weight-matched and assigned to six treatment groups (n 10; four vegetable groups; negative and positive controls). For 4 weeks, the treatments included 35 nmol vitamin A (theoretical concentrations based on 100 % bioefficacy) in the form of vegetables or retinyl acetate. In addition to their diets, the control and vegetable groups received daily doses of oil, while the vitamin A group received retinyl acetate in oil matched to prior day intake. Serum and livers were analysed for vitamin A using HPLC. Serum retinol concentrations did not differ among groups, but total liver vitamin A of the vitamin A and vegetable groups were higher than that of the negative control group (P < 0.0001). Liver beta-carotene 15,15'-monooxygenase-1 expression levels were determined for two vegetable groups and were similar to the positive and negative controls. Conversion factors for the different leafy vegetables were between 1.9 and 2.3 microg beta-carotene equivalents to 1 microg retinol. Small quantities of these vegetables maintained vitamin A status in gerbils through efficient bioconversion of beta-carotene to retinol.

Serum concentration of vitamins A and E and lipid in a rural population of north Cameroon.

BACKGROUND: Vitamin A deficiency is still a major health problem mostly affecting people in developing countries. It contributes to increased mortality and morbidity through current infection. In Cameroon, it is a public health problem mostly in the northern part where palm oil, which is a principal source of provitamin A in the south of the country, is not consumed. AIM: We carried out this research to discover the relationship between vitamins (A and E) and blood lipids in a normal rural population living in vitamin A-deficiency area. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study with 81 healthy volunteers (40 men and 41 women) aged 3-61 (mean 18.32 +/- 1.63) years and living in two neighboring villages (Doyan and Larao) in the northern part of Cameroon, where previous studies revealed a prevalence of vitamin A deficiency of 33.3%. METHODS: Serum concentrations of vitamins A and E were measured by fluorometric methods. Serum cholesterol and lipids were assayed by enzymatic methods. RESULTS: The mean +/- standard error for vitamin A and E were 15.09 +/- 0.82; 526.99 +/- 29.57 mug/100 ml, respectively. The concentrations of the serum parameters analyzed were similar for both sexes, whereas the atherogenic ration of cholesterol (ARC) was significantly (p < 0.036) higher in women. Serum lipids (total lipids, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein and phospholipids) correlated with vitamins A and E (p < 0.05). Vitamins A and E were highly correlated with each other (r = 0.42, p < 0.001). Age was positively associated with vitamin A (r = 0.42, p < 0.001) and vitamin E (r = 0.29, p < 0.01). Deficiency of vitamins A and E constitutes a public health problem with more than 56% of the subjects having low levels of these vitamins, while subjects tested had a low risk for cardiovascular diseases. CONCLUSION: In this population we noticed normal lipid levels and vitamin A deficiency probably resulting from diets poor in provitamin A.

Nutrient content of complementary foods based on processed and fermented sorghum, groundnut, spinach, and mango.

BACKGROUND: Many African mothers use gruels made of maize and sorghum as complementary foods for their infants because they cannot afford the cost of nutritionally superior commercial weaning foods. OBJECTIVE: To improve the nutritional quality of traditional sorghum gruels used as complementary foods for children between six months and five years in the northern part of Cameroon. METHODS: Sorghum grains were processed by dehulling, sprouting, dehulling and cooking, and sprouting and cooking, then fermented using Saccharomyces cerevisae and tested for nutritional quality. The processed samples were analyzed for their nutrient composition and the digestibility of proteins and carbohydrates. RESULTS: The resulting products showed a significant reduction in antinutritional factors (e.g., phenolic compounds and phytates). In addition, germination improved the in vitro digestibility of proteins and carbohydrates. These effects were enhanced by fermentation of the resulting sorghum flour, regardless of how grains were pretreated, although the protein and mineral content remained low. Use of a composite flour made from pretreated sorghum, groundnut, spinach, and mango improved the protein, mineral, and vitamin A and C content of the gruels. Fermentation of composite flours resulted in an improvement in the protein content. CONCLUSIONS: This study, conducted under local conditions and using local technology, describes an opportunity for improving the quality of complementary foods using local ingredients.