Norge W. Jerome

Caregiver Child Interaction Patterns in Two Cultures in Relation to Nutritional Intake

The major focus of the present project was the relation between caregiver behaviour towards toddlers, and caregiver and toddler nutritional intake across two cultures. Kenyan subjects were 110 toddlers, 18-30 months of age and their caregivers; Egyptian subjects were 153 toddlers, 18-30 months of age and their caregivers. Based on monthly observations and maternal report, food intake values were calculated for both mothers and toddlers in both countries. In Kenya, based on bimonthly observations, five measures of caregiver behaviour were collected; based on monthly observations, nine measures of caregiver behaviour were collected in Egypt. Results indicated that in both countries caregiver behaviours toward their toddlers were driven primarily by toddler rather than by maternal intake. However, the specific pattern of relations differed across each culture. Specifically, in Egypt, more adequately nourished toddlers received more appropriate stimulation from caregivers. In Kenya, more adequately nourished toddlers had less physical contact with their caregivers and their caregivers responded verbally to their vocalisations less than they did for poorly nourished toddlers.

Nutritional Intake and Context as Predictors of Cognition and Adaptive Behaviour of Egyptian School-age Children:

Relations between nutrition, cognition, and adaptive behaviour measures were assessed for 110 Egyptian pre-adolescents (47% male), ranging in age from 7 to 10 years. Using a combination of oral recall and weighing of food portions, the level of dietary intake was obtained for 19 specific nutrients, including measures of energy (kilocalories), macronutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrates), and micronutrients (vitamins, trace minerals). Children were tested on six subscales from the Egyptian version of the WISC-R plus the Ravens coloured matrices. Based on repeated naturalistic observations we also obtained measures of the childrens behaviour in the school classroom, social interactions with peers and adults, activity level, and affect. Teacher ratings of the childrens classroom behaviour were also obtained. The results indicated that specific nutritional indices were significantly related to male classroom behaviour and activity level, and to female verbal ability and classroom involvement. Although a diverse group of nutrients predicted developmental outcomes, common to many of these nutrients was the fact that they were derived from intake of animal source foods. The results further indicated that relations between nutrition and childrens cognition and behaviour were mediated by contextual factors, such as social class and cultural expectations about the appropriateness of given behaviours.

Relations between nutrition and cognitive performance in Egyptian toddlers.

Two relatively unexplored questions--which specific components of chronic mild child malnutrition are associated with specific behavioral and cognitive deficits and do psychosocial child rearing factors moderate the nutrition-development relationship?--were investigated in a longitudinal study involving 153 toddlers from the Egyptian village of Kalama. Beginning at study entry at age 18 months and continuing until 30 months, food intake information was obtained for 2 consecutive days each month. During the same period, researchers visited the homes twice a month to observe both toddler behavior and caregiver styles. Finally, standardized infant development tests were administered at 24 months and 30 minutes and the capacity for exploratory, symbolic play was assessed. Specific components of nutritional intake at 18-23 months of age were confirmed to be uniquely related to specific developmental outcomes at 24 months of age. Changes in toddler intake from 18-30 months also predicted 30-month cognitive performance. At 24 months, general mental competence was associated positively with fat intake, total kilocalories, and total protein intake while symbolic play capacity was related only to total protein intake. Significant increases in predictive variance occurred when the model was expanded to encompass caregiver behaviors as well as nutritional factors. For example, when nonverbal response to child vocalizations was used as the environmental measure, there was evidence of both coactive and synergistic interactions for comparisons involving cognitive development indicators. For symbolic play, an increase in predictive variance was found when the model included the multiplicative interaction of animal kilocalories by nonverbal response to vocalizations. Also observed was a buffering effect against poor psychosocial rearing conditions given the presence of adequate nutritional intake. These findings suggest the feasibility of multidimensional risk profiles, the provision of specific nutrients targeted at specific deficits, and multidisciplinary interventions.

Food and nutrition surveillance: an international overview.

Systems providing routine food and nutrition surveillance (FNS) in local and national populations are essential to the understanding of relations between nutrition and health and the implementation of appropriate actions to promote the well-being of those populations. The purpose of an FNS program is to gather, interpret, and disseminate information about nutrition. Functions of FNS systems include national and regional planning, monitoring and evaluation of food and nutrition programs, provision of timely warnings of food shortages, problem identification, advocacy support, and monitoring food and nutrition effects of structural-adjustment policies. The characteristics of an FNS system are determined by its function. Successful FNS systems are community based and action oriented. We reviewed FNS systems throughout the world, with special emphasis on those in developing countries.

Effect of short-term oral zinc supplementation on theconcentration of zinc in milk from american and egyptian women

Abstract Investigations of the effects of oral zinc supplementation on levels of zinc in human milk have resulted in contrasting observations. In the present study this relationship was examined in milk of 33 urban American and 30 rural Egyptian women. Of these subjects, 16 Americans and 15 Egyptians were supplemented with 50 mg zinc daily for 34 days at the 7–9th month stage of lactation and zinc levels in their milk were compared to those of their unsupplemented counterparts. Initially zinc concentrations of milk were not significantly different among the four groups; during the study period the concentrations decreased in all groups. Supplemented American women showed significantly less decrease (4%) than their unsupplemented counterparts (25%). Among Egyptian women, supplemented and unsupplemented groups showed similar decreases (8–9%) in zinc concentrations of milk.

Culture-specific strategies for capturing local dietary intake patterns.

To capture cultural reality and apply it to nutrition research, ethnographic research should be integrated with nutrition research and community-based nutrition research designs should be dictated by the local culture. Choosing the most appropriate dietary assessment for a study population requires attention to culture-specific technology for food acquisition, storage, exchange, processing, and preparation, as well as consideration of cultural rules pertaining to food distribution and consumption at the household level. Nutrition researchers should work with ethnographers to determine whether the assessment method used in a specific culture should capture the food intake of the household as a unit or of the individuals in each household.

Cognitive performance of Egyptian adults as a function of nutritional intake and sociodemographic factors

Abstract This study was designed to investigate whether variability in adult cognitive performance was associated with variability in dietary energy intake or with variability in dietary intake quality, as defined by intake of animal source foods. In addition, we also investigated whether the impact of nutrition was amplified by covarying nonnutrient risk factors. Participants were 54 Egyptian male adults and 101 Egyptian female adults. Using a combination of oral recall and weighing of food portions, the level of individual dietary intake was established for 22 specific nutrients, including measures of energy (kilocalories), macronutrients (fat, protein), and micronutrients (vitamins, trace minerals). Adults were mildly deficient in specific trace minerals and vitamins, but were not clinically malnourished. Participants were tested on four subscales from the Egyptian version of the WAIS-R and the Ravens Progressive Matrices. In addition we also obtained measures of family SES, individual education level, and adult height as a proxy for prior nutritional status. Results indicated that male cognitive performance was primarily associated with intake of animal source foods, with a small contribution of socioeconomic status. Female cognitive performance was primarily associated with level of education, with a small contribution from animal source foods. The results emphasize the salience of nutritional intake for adult cognition, even with populations that are not clinically malnourished. The results also emphasize the importance of studying nutritional influences as part of a larger system of multiple determinants of human behavior.

Prevalence and functional correlates of obesity in an Egyptian village

The objective of this analysis was to investigate obesity and its correlates in 147 men and 286 women 15 to 74 years from the Egyptian project of the Nutrition Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP). According to National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS, 1983) standards for body mass index (BMI), nearly twice the proportion of women (25.1 and 10.1%) were overweight or obese compared to men (12.9 and 6.8%), using body mass index (BMI). Although not for men, women reporting heart disease or diabetes had higher BMI and were older. High maternal pre‐pregnant BMI was also related to adverse pregnancy outcome, i.e., multiple births and complicated deliveries, and higher infant birthweights. Given that the likelihood of a lighter weight infant was greater for leaner women and that women regardless of their pre‐pregnancy weight had low pregnancy weight gains, one could suggest that women in this community are vulnerable to the risks of low pregnancy weight gains and that high pre‐pregnancy relative weig...

Dependability and precision of anthropometric measures in a longitudinal field study in an Egyptian village

Reliability and its components, precision and dependability, are analyzed for a complex dataset involving longitudinal anthropometric measurements on subjects of varying ages in an Egyptian village setting. Results are compared with other published datasets. Technical error of measurement is similar to or compares favorably with other datasets for both adults and children. Overall reliability is strongly influenced by dependability coefficients, which are calculated in this analysis over relatively longer time periods (2 weeks for young children and longer for older individuals) than in other comparable datasets. It is evident that some components of the theoretical construct of imprecision, i.e., measurement error derived from variation over longer periods of time in factors contributing to accuracy, are actually captured in the analytical component of variance called undependability.

Food and culture research

Brown, Linda Keller, and Kay Mussell, eds. Ethnic and Regional Foodways in the United States: The Performance of Group Identity. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1984. viii + 271 pp. including chapter notes and references, photographs, selected bibliography, list of contributors, and index.