Georgia S. Guldan

Maternal education and child feeding practices in rural Bangladesh.

This study in rural lowland Bangladesh used spot and event observations from 185 children aged 4-27 months in order to examine whether child feeding practices differed with mothers education and with household education. Each child and his/her caretakers were observed for a mean of 20 hr over 6 months from February to July 1986. Only 25% of mothers and 51% of fathers had had any formal education. Exploratory partial correlations and stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed significant behavioral differences with both maternal and household measures of education while controlling for wealth. Caretakers in families with education were found to feed the children more frequently, with fresher food, and in cleaner, more protected places. They did not allow their children to eat food intended for someone else as often, and were more observant when their childrens food dropped during the feeding. These caretakers also used more cups and bottles for feedings, breastfed their children less frequently, and their mothers terminated the breastfeedings more often. These behaviors suggested a shift from less attentive feeding practices and less frequent feedings to more frequent feedings in which the caretaker took more control of the childs feeding sessions. They also suggest a commitment to more labor-intensive child care. These associations between education and child feeding practices are mechanisms through which maternal education may improve child health and growth. They suggest the need for promoting more formal and nonformal education.

Dietary Guidelines for the Asia Pacific Region

Nutrition is a major determinant of health throughout all stages of life and together with smoking is the most important risk factor for morbidity and mortality in the Asia Pacific Region. The workshop participants examined Dietary Guidelines and Food Guides that are in use in our region, together with additional materials from the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the World Cancer Research Foundation. The resulting set of guidelines is meant as a reminder of the main issues to be covered in a general public health education program. It may also be of value in reminding public health practitioners, educators, administrators, and policy makers of current nutrition issues. It may additionally be useful as a checklist of the issues to be considered in public health programs and regulations. The main areas of nutrition that are included in the Guidelines are eating a variety of foods, including vegetables, fruits, whole grain cereals, and nuts. Choose fish, poultry, and meats grown in a sustainable way. Appropriate growth, including avoiding obesity, and physical activity are important. Breastfeeding is the basis of infant nutrition and nutrition of mothers is an important public health measure. Negative factors in the Asian diet include salt, refined sugar, alcohol and fats. The APACPH Dietary Guidelines will need to be kept under review and modified to meet regional differences in food supply. The Guidelines will be useful as a checklist of the issues to be considered in public health programs, addressing both acute and chronic diseases.

Designing Appropriate Nutrition Education for the Chinese: the Urban and Rural Nutrition Situation in Sichuan

In the Peoples Republic of China, as in the West, diet has emerged as an important determinant of morbidity and mortality. In order to provide one of the bases for designing nutrition education, two nutrition knowledge-attitudes-practices surveys of adults aged 18-55 were conducted in 1989 in an urban (N = 1004) and a rural (N = 506) area of Sichuan. Nutrition knowledge levels were low in both sites, but lower in the rural site. Certain general nutrition concepts, such as the value of a varied diet, were reported correctly by over 50 per cent of the population in both areas. However, less than 10 per cent of the urban residents and only 3 per cent of the rural residents reported taking correct measures to prevent or delay cancer or heart disease. Dietary practices, elicited by a food frequency questionnaire, revealed large differences in consumption habits in the two areas. More than half of the urban respondents reported eating rice, vegetable oil, green vegetables, lean meat, and wheat on a daily basis, and other vegetables, pickles, fruit, eggs, soybean products, and meat fat on at least a weekly basis. However, the rural respondents reported eating only rice, vegetable oil, green vegetables, and other vegetables on a daily basis, and no additional foods on a weekly basis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Dietary intake, food habits and nutrition knowledge of adults — A telephone survey in Hong Kong (1990–1991)

Abstract A pilot dietary survey using telephone interview was conducted to evaluate the current dietary intake, food habits and nutrition knowledge of 198 random sample of adults aged between 18–60, and to arouse the awareness of the government, health-related professionals and the public on diet and related diseases. Data collection was undertaken by dietitians and student teachers using a frequency questionnaire through telephone interview. There was a high intake of meat group (≈ 327 g/d), low intake of rice and cereals (3.8 bowls/d), inadequate consumption of vegetables (3.6 servings/d) and fruits (1.7 servings/d) when compared to the established healthy food guides. Milk intake was only 0.6 cup/d. Processed foods high in animal fat, protein and sodium were popular among the adults. 96% households used pure vegetable oils for cooking, 69% never ate unlicensed street foods, 55% never drank alcohol. 14% were estimated to be obese (BMI: 25–40). Only 43% regularly performed physical exercise more than 45 minutes a week. Considering the repeatedly reported high mean total serum cholesterol of Hongkong adults (5.0–5.5 mmol/L), imprudent dietary practices, and increasing episodes of myocardiac infarction in the younger Hongkong adults, increases in morbidity and mortality from cardio- and cerebro-vascular diseases in Hongkong is foreseeable in the future. Thus, before it becomes too late and too costly to combat the diseases, it is necessary to identify the risk factors of degenerative diseases to promote healthy life-styles, and to establish the healthy eating guidelines and community nutrition education for the population.

Effectiveness of a Worksite Nutrition Education Activity in a Factory in China

To evaluate the effectiveness of a worksite nutrition education activity in China, a two-group pretest-posttest nutrition education lesson was designed and carried out in two divisions (N = 240 in each division) of a steel tube factory in Chengdu, Sichuan. Special features of the program were nutrition education materials developed from both (a) the results of a pretest survey of the employees, and (b) focus group discussions conducted with factory hospital and workteam staff; a colloquial style; a slogan; and an illustrated handout depicting the new Chinese Dietary Guidelines and a proposed Food Guide. Analysis of variance, chi-square, and t-tests showed both significant increases (p < 0.05) in nutrition knowledge and attitude scores and significant improvements in dietary practices in the group receiving the education. It is concluded that the method is a useful and practical model for designing and developing worksite nutrition education in China.