Erica F. Wheeler

Comparative nutrition in pregnancy and lactation

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Environmental Conditions and Body Temperatures of Elderly Women Living Alone or in Local Authority Home

The environmental and body temperatures of two groups of elderly women have been measured. One group was living in a local authority home (L.A.H.) and the others in their own homes in North London. The L.A.H. provided a constant environmental temperature which was at all times higher than that of the private houses. In the latter group the ambient temperature was higher in bed-sitting rooms than in houses with separate living rooms and bedrooms. Body temperatures in summer were similar throughout both groups. In winter the skin and mouth temperatures of the subjects living independently were lower than those in the L.A.H. Four subjects who had low mouth temperatures measured during two consecutive winters did not prove to have lowered deep body temperatures. The diet of these four subjects was similar in respect of all nutrients to that found in other groups of subjects of the same age, and in relation to published dietary standards was adequate in all respects.

The diets of pregnant and post-pregnant women in different social groups in London and Edinburgh: energy, protein, fat and fibre

1. Dietary records were obtained twice in pregnancy and once post-partum from 265 women from all social classes in London and Edinburgh. 2. The London women always had higher mean energy, protein, fat and fibre intakes. Significant between-region differences emerged. 3. Some between-social classes differences occurred, but were not consistently significant. 4. All mean energy and fibre intakes were lower, and protein and fat intakes were higher, than current recommendations. 5. Of lactating women 15% claimed to be dieting. 6. The percentage dietary energy derived from fat varied from 36 (in a dieting group) to 42.

Intra-Household Food and Nutrient Allocation

I N D I C E S O F I H F A . . 72 Nutrientlenergy share . . . 72 Nutrientlenergy adequacy ratio . . 72 Sharing index . . 74 Relative adequacy ratio. . . 74 METHODOLOGY . . 76 T H E D I E T A R Y M E A S U R E M E N T S . . 76 W H A T F O O D S A R E I N C L U D E D I N T H E M E A S U R E M E N T ? . . 76 R E Q U I R E M E N T D A T A . . 77 REVIEW OF D A T A . . . 17 W O M E N . . 77 C H I L D R E N . . 78 DISCUSSION . . 78 F U T U R E RESEARCH N E E D S . . 79 REFERENCES . . . 80

Trends in the growth of ethnic Chinese children living in London

Height, weight and triceps skinfold thickness of children aged 5 years and under were measured in a semi-longitudinal study of 50 Chinese families in London. Heights and weights of their mothers were also measured once. The children were taller and heavier than Chinese children in Hong Kong, but height-forage, when expressed as a percentage of the UK median value, declined after two years of age. The pattern of growth of triceps skinfold did not conform to the UK standards.

Nutritional and environmental studies on an ocean-going oil tanker. 2. Heat acclimatization and nutrient balances

Collins, K. J., Eddy, T. P., Hibbs, A., Stock, A. L., and Wheeler, E. F. (1971).Brit. J. industr. Med.,28, 246-258. Nutritional and environmental studies on an ocean-going oil tanker. 2. Heat acclimatization and nutrient balances. On the oil tanker S.S. Esso Newcastle, metabolic balances were investigated in three medical students and three working members of the crew during three-day experiments conducted when the ship was located in Biscay, the South Atlantic, and the Persian Gulf. Information was sought on the possible changes in nutrient requirements and the significance of the losses of nutrients in sweat when the subjects became acclimatized to heat. Physiological parameters of acclimatization were measured on each subject by controlled hyperthermia using a heated test-bed. Details are also given of the procedures devised for measuring the daily intake and loss of nutrients in metabolic balance studies on working subjects. The intakes of water, sodium (including salt supplements), potassium, nitrogen, and iron provided by the ships diet were found to be adequate, or more than adequate, during the outward voyage to the Persian Gulf. In two crew subjects who worked in the engine room, there was a trend to more positive salt and water balance with sweat losses of 3 to 4 litres per day in the Persian Gulf, but not in the three students who, though artificially acclimatized, were seldom exposed to hot working conditions. Sweat concentrations of sodium, potassium, and nitrogen were related to the rate of 24-hour sweat loss but were not altered by heat acclimatization. In the environmental and dietary conditions on board, the effect of daily sweat losses of potassium, nitrogen, and iron on the respective balances was found to be insignificant. The urinary output of 17-OH corticosteroids increased slightly in mid-voyage in the students but was not raised in either students or crew in the Persian Gulf. There was evidence of temporary increases in plasma cortisol accompanied by negative nitrogen and potassium balances when unacclimatized crew members were exposed to heat stress at the start of the voyage.

Nutritional status indicators : Interpretation and policy making role

Anthropometric measurements, usually based on the growth of children, and considered to be reflective of the degree and state of nutritional status, have long been the measurement of choice in assessing the health and welfare of a community. However, it must be borne in mind that any such measure serves only as an indicator of the functioning of a very complex system. As such it is subject to error when applied according to rigid and predetermined numeral scales reflecting social valuations, and really cannot be considered to be a technical description of a physiological state. The limitations to the application of such inferred nutritional data, from a systems viewpoint, are many and should be recognized. Nonetheless, measures of nutritional status can provide valuable information on the effects of the health, social and food environment of individuals and communities. Bearing in mind the limitations of their usefulness, such measurements can serve as useful tools in policy making and can be integrated with information from other sectors of government for this purpose.

Concepts relating to health and food held by Chinese women in London

In classical Chinese literature, foods are conceptualised within the framework of the “hot‐cold” system. A survey of 50 Hong Kong families, now settled in London, showed that the women of these families hold to a simplified and pragmatic version of these concepts, at the same time making use of some English foods and developing ways of counter‐balancing the expected effects on their children of eating English foods. They have also developed varying ideas about ethnic differences in food requirements. These are discussed in relation to government provision of health and education services to minority groups.

Infant feeding and growth in rural Ghana : is the use of the traditional fermented porridge a case for early supplementation ?

Thirty infants were studied longitudinally for 6 months. Breast milk and intakes of supplements were measured at the first and third months post-partum. Mode of feeding, morbidity, and weights were recorded monthly. Variations in growth were found to be related to levels of breast milk intakes, and timely and effective supplementation with the traditional weaning porridge prepared from fermented maize dough. No diarrhoeal incidence was recorded before 3 months. It is suggested that coupled with true demand breast feeding, the traditional weaning porridge could adequately support growth if introduced on time, even when breast milk intakes are less than optimal.

From concept to practice: Food behaviour of Chinese immigrants in London

The dietary practices of Chinese families in London are described, and related to their conceptualisation of foods. The pattern is varied and nutritionally excellent. There is some cautious incorporation of English foods.