Current issues in determining dietary protein and amino-acid requirements.

Pregnancy and the first two years of life are periods of rapid growth and yet the knowledge of requirements for protein and dietary indispensable amino acids is very limited. The development of carbon oxidation methods opens the way to studies that should fill these important gaps in knowledge.

Comparison between household budget survey and 24-hour recall data in a nationally representative sample of Polish households.

OBJECTIVE: Household budget survey (HBS) data are used regularly for nutritional epidemiological purposes. The validity of HBS data, however, is not well established. The aim of this project was to compare HBS and individual nutrition survey (INS) data in a nationally representative sample of Polish households. DESIGN: Estimates of food consumption and nutrient intake were compared between household food acquisition data collected over 1 month and a single 24-hour recall collected from every household member in a nationally representative sample of Polish households surveyed between September and November 2000. To facilitate the comparison, INS food consumption data excluded food eaten away from home and were modified using a computer program to estimate food 'as purchased' (including disaggregation of recipe data) and to allow for wastage. SETTING: Poland. SUBJECTS: Participants were 3716 individuals in 1215 households (representing co-operation rates of 86.2% and 89.2%, respectively). RESULTS: Good agreement was shown between median estimates of foods such as potatoes, vegetables (including processed), meat, meat products and poultry, and animal fats (excluding butter), but agreement was poor for bread and rolls, fruit, vegetable fats and oils, eggs and six other food groups. Estimates of energy and nutrient intake were within +/-10% with the exceptions of polyunsaturated fats, potassium and vitamin C. CONCLUSIONS: Possible reasons for differences in findings between the two surveys include survey bias (e.g. social approval bias leading to overreporting of fruit), seasonal variations (e.g. high potato purchases between September and November) and aspects of the methodology (e.g. HBS data were based on records collected over 1 month, whereas 24-hour recall data were based on recalls collected from all household respondents on only 1 day and averaged for each household type). HBSs provide useful data for epidemiological research, but findings need to be interpreted in the light of other data regarding consumption, and numerous factors that may affect consumption need to be taken into account.

The Household Food Consumption and Anthropometric Survey in Poland.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of the Household Food Consumption and Anthropometric Survey, undertaken in Poland from September to November 2000. DESIGN: A sub-sample of households participating in the countrywide, representative household budget survey (HBS) was selected to participate in the Household Food Consumption and Anthropometric Survey. Four thousand two hundred (4200) individuals provided 24-hour recalls that were subsequently evaluated. Body weight and height together with the mid-arm, waist and hip circumferences were measured. Laboratory analyses of contaminants that may be present in selected individual diets will be undertaken. SETTING: Poland, 2000. SUBJECTS: Four thousand two hundred individuals from 1362 households participating in the Polish HBS. RESULTS: Preliminary analyses of height and weight, as well as energy and nutrient intakes, were undertaken in a sub-sample of 484 boys and girls aged 10-15 years. Energy intakes were generally in line with or above the Polish Recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: Apart from serving as an important information source on individual food consumption and anthropometric status of the Polish population, the data collected through the Household Food Consumption and Anthropometric Survey will allow direct comparisons of food intake estimates, based on 24-hour recalls, with the results of the household budget survey. Such comparisons are expected to improve and refine interpretation of the data derived from both the individual nutrition survey and the household budget survey, and particularly to provide information on the importance of eating out, which is not covered in the Polish HBS.

The body mass index of Chinese adults in the 1980s.

Patterns and trends in the body composition of Chinese adults are studied with data from the 1982 China Nationwide Nutrition Survey (CNS-82) and the 1989 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS-89). The CNS-82 showed rural inhabitants were approximately 3 kg lighter than urban residents and approximately 2.2 cm shorter. Males were heavier (55.2 +/- 7.4 vs 50.7 +/- 8.0 kg) and taller (165.3 +/- 7.3 and 153.5 +/- 6.3 cm). Using a cut-off for underweight of a body mass index (BMI: kg/m2) < 18.5 and for obesity of > 25, 11.6% and 12.9% of the urban and rural sample were underweight and 9.8% and 6.9% respectively were overweight. The CHNS-89 surveyed 5138 adults aged 20-45 in eight selected provinces. The proportion of underweight in both urban and rural samples declined slightly (approximately 1.3%) but the proportion of obesity increased considerably (4.8% for the urban sample and 2% for the rural one). Increased income was significantly associated with reduced low body mass index (BMI: kg/m2) in the urban sample while, for the rural and overall samples, the opposite was found for obesity. Provincial patterns in energy intake were not associated with the distribution of BMI while occupation was. In particular, government officials and housewives were much more likely to be obese as also were subpopulation groups consuming greater proportions of energy from animal sources. Over 80% of the population fell in the normal BMI range (18.5-25). This may relate to the relatively even distribution of food in China during the past several decades.