Nayar D

Iodine deficiency in district Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh.

The state of Himachal Pradesh is a known iodine deficiency endemic region since the last 40 years. The state government is supplying iodised salt to the district since 1970 No recent survey has been conducted on the prevalence of iodine deficiency from the district Kinnaur which is located at an average altitude of 10,000 feet above sea level. A total of 1094 children in the age group of 6–10 years were included in the study and clinically examined. The total goitre prevalence of 6.1% was found in the subjects studied. Urine samples were collected from 226 children and were analysed using standard laboratory procedures. It was found that the percentage of children with <2 mcg/dl, 2–4.9 mcg/dl, 5–9.9 mcg/dl and 10 and above mcg/dl of urinary iodine excretion (UIE) level was 1.3, 5.8, 10.6 and 82.3 respectively. A total of 242 salt samples were collected and analysed using the standard iodometric titration method. Results showed that almost 90% of the families were consuming salt with an iodine content of 15 ppm and more which is the stipulated level of iodisation of salt. The findings of the study indicate that iodine nutrition is in the transition phase from iodine deficient to iodine sufficient. Findings revealed a need for further strengthening the monitoring of the quality of salt being distributed in Kinnaur to achieve elimination of iodine deficiency.

Letter. Nutritional rehabilitation of severely malnourished children at domiciliary level through the integrated child development services (ICDS) scheme: a perspective study

In 1975 the Government of India launched the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme aiming to reduce the incidence of malnutrition and to reduce infant and child morbidity and mortality rates in the country. In this scheme a village-level center provides severely malnourished (SMN) children with therapeutic supplementary feed and advises mothers to continue breastfeeding and give adequate quantity of weaning foods. This prospective study assessed the impact of the ICDS package of services on the nutritional status of SMN children in India. A total of 926 children aged 6 months to <6 years attending 25 centers were assessed by utilizing the weight-for-age criterion. Overall results indicate a positive impact of the integrated package of nutrition and health services on the nutritional status of SMN children in field conditions. The findings also establish the value of domiciliary management of SMN children at village level. Hence this approach is recommended in preference to that of hospital management which is less effective more costly and often unacceptable to village people for socioeconomic and cultural reasons.

Assessment of status of salt iodisation in Delhi

The National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi was identified as an iodine deficiency endemic area in 1980. The government of NCT of Delhi banned the sale of non-iodised salt since 1989. The present study was aimed to estimate the iodine content of salt consumed in the households of the state. Thirty clusters were selected using population proportionate to size cluster sampling procedure. In each identified cluster one primary school was randomly selected. In each school, 60 salt samples were collected from an equal number of school children. The iodine content of a total of 1854 salt samples collected was analysed using the standard iodometric titration method. Forty one per cent of families consumed salt with an iodine content of less than 15 ppm. Salt with nil iodine content was consumed only by 1.4% of the beneficiaries which indicated successful implementation of universal salt iodisation programme in the state.

Organoleptic Study of Deacidified and Deodourised Palm Oil

Deficiency of vitamin A has long been identified as a serious and preventable nutritional disorder, associated with increased risk of mortality and morbidity amongst children. The present study was conducted with the objectives (i) to perform organoleptic testing of food products cooked in Deacidified and Deodourised Palm Oil (DDPO), by sensory evaluation method and (ii) to compare the characteristics of these food products with the same products cooked in routinely used oil. Eleven commonly used weaning food items were prepared with routinely used oil (Group A). The same recipes were also prepared with DDPO (Group B). A food testing panel conducted the sensory evaluation for assessing the acceptability of the various food items. It was observed that with respect to all characteristics there was no significant difference in the recipes made with the two types of oil. Results Indicated that DDPO can be used in India for preperation of weaning foods which are routinely given to young children.