Diva Sanjur

Food preferences—their conceptualization and relationship to consumption†

The relationship between a dislike and non‐use was much stronger than a like for, and consumption of a vegetable, leading the authors to surmise that food preference functions to limit the available food supply for individuals. This paper reports on a study undertaken to examine the extent of the relationship between food preference and consumption; to ascertain the relative importance of characteristics of the food, the individual, and the environment on these two measures of food habits; and to update knowledge of adult vegetable preferences. Preferences of 120 women, living in upstate New York, for 20 vegetables were measured using hedonic scaling and compared to their frequency of use.

Haemoglobin concentrations and concomitant infections of hookworm and Trichuris trichiura in Panamanian primary schoolchildren

The blood haemoglobin concentrations and intestinal helminth infections were surveyed in 658 children aged between 6 and 12 years attending 4 primary schools in Coclé Province, Panama, in November 1987. 147 (22.3%) of the children were judged to have haemoglobin concentrations indicative of iron-deficiency anaemia. Blood haemoglobin concentrations were significantly lower in children with heavier Trichuris trichiura infections (> 5000 eggs/g) (P = 0.014), and in children with dual infections of both hookworm and T. trichiura (P = 0.005). Children with concomitant T. trichiura and hookworm infections were also significantly more likely to have blood haemoglobin levels indicative of anaemia than children who were uninfected or had single infections with either of these helminths (P < 0.005). In a longitudinal study involving 171 children selected from the original 658, blood haemoglobin concentrations were measured again in November 1988. Children who were considered to show an improvement in both hookworm and T. trichiura infections over this 12 month period showed a significantly greater increase in blood haemoglobin concentrations than children who had remained uninfected with either of these helminths throughout the study period (P < 0.05).

Intestinal helminthiases in relation to the socioeconomic environment of Panamanian children.

A cross-sectional investigation was made into ascariasis and nutritional status in Panamanian preschool children from October 1983 to July 1984. Within this framework, an analysis was undertaken of possible relationships between a range of intestinal helminthiases and the socioeconomic status of the participants. Attention was paid to caregivers education, parental occupation, family earnings, quality of housing and sanitation in the assessment of socioeconomic status. On this basis, strong associations were established between the socioeconomic status of the children and infection with Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and hookworm. In general, the prevalence of single and multiple helminth infections was significantly higher in children living in housing made of wood or bamboo than in those living in housing made of concrete blocks. The same pattern applied to levels of sanitation. Ascaris lumbricoides occurred more frequently in children of mothers with the least formal education and in children living in relatively crowded conditions. Evidence was also obtained to indicate that the intensity of the intestinal helminth infections was greater in the children from the poorer environment. Since children from poorer socioeconomic conditions might be more exposed to infective stages than those from a better environment, the possible role of socioeconomic factors in contributing to the predisposition of some individuals to harbour large worm burdens of intestinal helminths was briefly discussed.

Contributions of ascariasis to poor nutritional status in children from Chiriqui Province, Republic of Panama

Relationships between ascariasis and lactose digestion and between ascariasis and food transit time from mouth to caecum were investigated in young children from Chiriqui Province, Republic of Panama. The breath hydrogen method was used in both studies. Ascaris-infected children showed a significantly poorer degree of lactose digestion following a test oral load than uninfected children. Recovery of the capacity of the children to digest lactose was still not fully complete for at least 3 weeks following anthelmintic treatment. On average, the mouth-to-caecum transit time was similar in infected and uninfected children, but among the Ascaris-infected children the transit time tended to be shorter in relation to the intensity of infection. Evidence from a cross-sectional survey indicated that ascariasis was significantly associated with reduced plasma vitamin A and carotenoid concentrations. This relationship remained after controlling for a range of socio-economic variables. Ascaris-infected children were frequently found to have lower haematocrits and blood haemoglobin concentrations than uninfected children, but these relationships could not be attributed to ascariasis alone.

The dietary status of preschool children: An ecological approach

Summary One hundred thirteen preschool children and their families from Well Baby Clinics were sampled to investigate factors affecting the dietary status of the children. Variables assessing resource availability, demography, psychosocial characteristics of the mothers, and preschooler characteristics were related to the quality and diversity of the childrens diets. Relationships between variables were analyzed by means of correlations, regressions, and path analysis. Variables exerting predictive influence of the dietary quality were those of sex, ordinal position, mothers employment status, education, and her nutrition education.

Maternal Income-Generating Activities, Child Care, and Child Nutrition in Mali

Background Women in sub-Saharan Africa play a key role in household food security. The income-generating activities of mothers are postulated to be related to the nutritional status of children. Objective The objective of the study was to examine whether maternal income-generating activities, maternal food production, and child care were determinants of the nutritional status of children in rural West Africa. The study hypotheses were that maternal income-generating activities and maternal food production are positively associated with childrens dietary intake and anthropometry, and that maternal income-generating activities are not associated with child care. Methods Data were collected from a cross-sectional sample of mother–child pairs on maternal time use, child anthropometry, maternal food production, dietary intake, parasitic infection, and household, maternal, and child determinants of child nutritional status. The children were 12 to 36 months of age and included breastfed and nonbreastfed children. Food intake was assessed by the 24-hour recall method. The data were analyzed by multivariate regression and controlled for confounding variables. Results Time spent by the mother in income-generating activities was negatively associated with childrens animal protein intake and height-for-age (p < .05). Maternal cash crop production was positively associated with childrens weight-for-height, whereas maternal staple food production was negatively associated with energy intake from non-breastmilk foods (p < .05). The negative relationships observed for childrens animal protein intake and childrens height-for-age were not mediated by any child-care variable. Maternal supervision of feeding was a positive predictor of childrens animal protein intake. Giardia infection was negatively related to childrens weight gain (p < .05). Conclusions Own-account cash crop farming by mothers benefits childrens nutrition. Maternal income-generating activities in the context of extended families, sibling caretaking, and prolonged breastfeeding do not adversely affect child care.

Food Behavior and Related Factors of Puerto Rican-American Teenagers

Summary The food habits of Puerto Rican-American teenage girls were investigated to ascertain whether they were nutritionally adequate and examine dietary patterns within a socioculturel and cognitive context. Nutritional adequacy, dietary diversity, and frequency of consumption and their relation to nutrition knowledge and socioeconomic factors were assessed. Seventy-five girls from the Puerto Rican community in Chicago completed questionnaires and 3-day food records. Ethnic food patterns made significant contributions to the diet. Vitamin C intake was higher than noted among most teenage populations in the U.S. Traditional patterns also provided substantial amounts of calcium and iron, and resulting intake matched U.S. teenage trends. Vitamin A levels were much lower owing to the typically low consumption of vegetables. Patterns typical of U.S. consumption also emerged. For instance, intake of low-nutriture, high-calorie snack foods was prevalent among the sample population. The diet was related to knowledge and socioeconomic variables. A greater knowledge of nutrition related to better diets. Older girls, those whose mothers did not work, and working teens also had more adequate food patterns.

Ascaris lumbricoides infection in pre-school children from Chiriqui Province, Panama

An epidemiological survey of intestinal parasitic infections was conducted in a sample of 203 children aged 3-5 years from a semi-urban and a rural community in Chiriqui, Panama, in 1983-4. On the basis of stool examinations, the prevalences of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, hookworm, Giardia intestinalis, Entamoeba spp. and Strongyloides stercoralis were found to be 27, 34, 14, 15, 5 and 4% respectively. The results from children from the two communities were compared. Polyparasitism occurred significantly more often in rural than semi-urban children. Following anthelmintic treatment with levamisole, the numbers of A. lumbricoides passed/child were recorded and the frequency distribution of the parasite was observed to be highly aggregated with a variance to mean ratio of 10.2. For A. lumbricoides, relationships between worm burden, worm biomass and egg production were investigated. In the data analysis, an attempt was made to explore the influence of numbers of male worms on egg production. The results are compared with those obtained during other recent studies on the epidemiology of A. lumbricoides infection in other countries.

Soil-transmitted helminth infections in school children from Cocle Province, Republic of Panama.

A survey was carried out to determine values for the prevalence and intensity of infection of intestinal helminths in children living in Cocle Province, Republic of Panama. The data set consisted of the results of microscopic examinations (modified Kato Katz technique) of stool samples collected in November 1987 from 661 children attending primary schools in 4 communities in the province. The overall prevalences of Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm and Trichuris trichiura infections were found to be 18.2, 12.0 and 27.5% respectively. There were significant differences between the infection prevalence values for children attending the different schools, but not with respect to age or sex. Positive associations were detected between particular pairs of infections and these were most evident when Trichuris trichiura was involved. The data revealed evidence of a positive association between siblings at one school only for each helminth infection. There was extreme variation in the values for intensity of infection (20-126180 epg for A. lumbricoides). Highly significant, and unexplained, differences were observed in the intensity of A. lumbricoides infection by primary school; this finding did not apply to hookworm or T. trichiura. The analysis also revealed that children heavily infected with A. lumbricoides were also likely to be heavily infected with T. trichiura. Comparisons with the results of surveys carried out in Cocle Province in 1926 and 1974 indicate that these infections are declining in this region of Panama.

Home gardens and the energy and nutrient intakes of women and preschoolers in rural Puerto Rico

The study investigated how the increased availability of self‐grown foods was related to the adequacy of the energy and nutrient intake of rural women and preschoolers in Puerto Rico. The 109 women included in the study were found to be most seriously deficient in iron and calcium, and tended to suffer from obesity. The 50 preschoolers demonstrated no serious chronic/acute undernutrition or growth retardation, and were most seriously deficient in iron and vitamin C. Results indicated that per capita food expenditures did not decrease with increased availability of self‐grown foods. Home gardens had the effect of increasing the total food supply of the household during certain seasons. Preschoolers appeared to benefit nutritionally more from horticultural production than adult women. With the exception of iron intake, more adequate energy and nutrient intakes of preschoolers were associated with the availability of different self‐grown foods. This was only true for the vitamin A intake of the women.