Nutrition
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Mild to severe iodine deficiency has been documented in Lesotho since 1960. To eliminate the persisting iodine deficiency, legislation on universal salt iodization was introduced in 2000 as a long-term public health intervention strategy. We assessed the urinary iodine status of school children and women of child-bearing age in Lesotho 2 y after the introduction of legislation on universal salt iodization. ⋯ Results of urinary iodine excretion measurements indicated that iodine deficiency has been eliminated as a public health problem in Lesotho. However, the high median urinary iodine concentration of women in the lowlands indicated the possibility of a risk of iodine-induced hyperthyroidism in vulnerable people.
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There is an increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children worldwide, including South Africa. We investigated the prevalences of overweight, obesity, and stunting in a current generation of children (ages 12 to 108 mo), which has a high prevalence of stunting, and evaluated the determinants of both nutritional disorders. ⋯ Certain defined determinants appear to play important roles in children's nutritional outcomes in relation to stunting and to overweight and obesity.
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Comparative Study
Diet and blood pressure in South Africa: Intake of foods containing sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium in three ethnic groups.
We investigated whether habitual intakes of sodium (Na), potassium, magnesium, and calcium differ across South African ethnic groups, assessed the proportion of Na intake, which is discretionary, and identified which food sources were the major contributors to Na intake. ⋯ White South Africans have higher habitual intakes of Na, but also higher calcium intakes, than their black and mixed ancestry counterparts. All ethnic groups had Na intakes in excess of 6 g/d of salt, whereas potassium intakes in all groups were below the recommended level of 90 mM/d. Dietary differences may contribute to ethnically related differences in blood pressure.
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We wanted to develop a valid and reliable nutritional knowledge test for urban South African adolescents who were participating in the Birth-to-Twenty cohort study. The questionnaire was intended for use every second year, from ages 13 to 14 y until age 20 y. ⋯ A nutritional knowledge questionnaire with construct, face, and content validities and internal consistency was developed for use in South African adolescents to evaluate their nutritional knowledge. Internal consistency was low in children at a disadvantaged school and those in grade 8 compared with multiracial groups at a multiracial school. It is recommended that pupils at disadvantaged schools be assisted by trained interviewers when taking the test.