Eating patterns of Indian preschool children between 1-5 years of age in Howick West (Kwa-Zulu Natal)

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Most of the risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) such as hypertension,dyslipidaemia, smoking, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), obesity,physical inactivity and heredity are common in South African populations, withIndians ranking among those with the highest prevalence in the country. Littlepublished literature is available on eating patterns in pre-school children in the Indianpopulation. Therefore, this study a ims to assess the nutritional status of a group ofIndian pre-school children in Howick West (a small suburb in the Kwa-Zulu NatalMidlands).Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 50 Indian pre-school children betweenthe ages of 1-5 years, randomly selected from a total of 632 available Indianhouseholds in Howick West. Written, informed consent was obtained from themother/caregiver of each child that participated in the study.Standardized and validated 24-hour-recall (24-H-R) and quantitative food frequencyquestionnaires (QFFQ), used in the National Food Consumption Survey (NFCS) of1999, were adapted and used to assess habitual intake and eating patterns of the 50Indian pre-school children. Height and weight measurements using standardizedmethodology were used to assess the anthropometric status of the children.Results: The prevalence of underweight was 14%. Stunting affected only 8% of thechildren, and 2% were at risk of overweight. The mean energy intakes of the childrenwere above that recommended for age. A high fat intake was observed, with total fatcontributing 42% to the daily total energy (TE) intake. The contributions of totalcarbohydrate and protein to TE intake were 45% and 10%, respectively. Low meanintakes of the following micronutrients were observed (less than 67% of the RDA):Calcium (22% of the children), Vitamin D (90%), Zinc (56%) and Iodine (90%),respectively. Based on the 24-H-R, the intakes of the remaining micronutrients wereeither above or equivalent to that recommended for age when compared to the 1989RDAs.Conclusions: Despite a relatively high prevalence of underweight compared tooverweight in these preschoolers, dietary analysis has indicated adequate dietaryintakes in terms of total energy recommended for the age groups studied. However,total fat intake which represented 42% of TE, was high, with saturated fat (SF)contributing 15% to TE intake. This finding is cause for concern as excessiveconsumption of dietary fat has been implicated in the aetiology of CVD, obesity andsome forms of cancer, and CHD is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortalityin South Africa, especially among the Indian segment of the population.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University