Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T14:33:36.941Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

DIET AMONG PEOPLE IN THE TERAI REGION OF NEPAL, AN AREA OF MICRONUTRIENT DEFICIENCY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2012

RAJENDRA P. PARAJULI ,
MASAHIRO UMEZAKI  and
CHIHO WATANABE
RAJENDRA P. PARAJULI
Affiliation:
Department of Human Ecology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan Department of Social Medicine, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan
MASAHIRO UMEZAKI
Affiliation:
Department of Human Ecology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan
CHIHO WATANABE
Affiliation:
Department of Human Ecology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

In the Terai region, despite its ecological richness, the people have long suffered from a deficiency of micronutrients such as vitamin A, iron and zinc. The aim of this study was to investigate dietary and nutritional intakes among people in the Terai region of Nepal. The results were compared by sex and ethnicity. Food consumption surveys (one-day weighed records) were conducted among 114 people (55 Mushar and 59 Tharu). Nutritional intakes were calculated using Nepali food composition and other tables. The diet in the Terai region was characterized by a large amount of rice consumed with a tiny amount of curry or dal as a side dish. Intakes of vitamin A, iron, riboflavin and selenium were less than 50% of the recommended daily allowance irrespective of ethnicity or sex (with the exception of iron intake among Tharu males). Intakes of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, phosphorus and zinc were higher among the Tharu than the Mushar, while intakes of selenium and iodine were higher among the Mushar than the Tharu. The nutritional significance of these differences was slight. Protein intake (per kg body weight) was lower in females than in males, while the energy-adjusted micronutrient intakes did not differ by sex. Intakes of vitamin A, iron, riboflavin and selenium were deficient among the participants. Intervention projects such as the introduction of kitchen gardens or fish farming may be effective, but will increase the degree of inequality between the two ethnic groups.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 44 , Issue 4 , July 2012 , pp. 401 - 415
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anttolainen, M., Javanainen, J., Kaartinen, P., Lahti-Koski, M., Lauronen, J., Männistö, S. et al. (1998) The 1997 Dietary Survey of Finnish Adults. Publication of the National Public Health Institute No. B8/1998, Helsinki.Google Scholar
Barba, C. V. & Cabrera, M. I. (2008) Recommended dietary allowances harmonization in Southeast Asia. Asia Pacific Journal Clinical Nutrition 17 (Supplement 2), 405–408.Google ScholarPubMed
Bhujel, R. C., Shrestha, M. K., Pant, J. & Buranrom, S. (2008) Ethnic women in aquaculture in Nepal. Development 51, 259–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biro, G., Hulshof, K. F., Ovesen, L., Amorim, & Cruz, J. A. (2002) Selection of methodology to assess food intake. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 56 (Supplement 2), S25–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, M. L., Worth, R. M. & Shah, N. K. (1968) Health survey of Nepal. Diet and nutritional status of the Nepalese people. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 21, 875–881.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buzzard, M. (1998) 24-hour dietary recall and food record methods. In Willett, W. (ed.) Nutritional Epidemiology. Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 50–73.Google Scholar
Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) (2001) National Population Census, Kathmandu.Central Bureau of Statistics, Kathmandu.Google Scholar
Chandyo, R. K., Strand, T. A., Mathisen, M., Ulak, M., Adhikari, R. K., Bolann, B. J. & Sommerfelt, H. (2009) Zinc deficiency is common among healthy women of reproductive age in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Journal of Nutrition 139, 594–597.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Christian, P., Jiang, T., Khatry, S. K., LeClerq, S. C., Shrestha, S. R. & West, K. P. Jr (2006) Antenatal supplementation with micronutrients and biochemical indicators of status and subclinical infection in rural Nepal. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 83, 788–794.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dreyfuss, M. L., Stoltzfus, R. J., Shrestha, J. B., Pradhan, E. K., LeClerq, S. C., Khatry, S. K. et al. (2000) Hookworms, malaria and vitamin A deficiency contribute to anemia and iron deficiency among pregnant women in the plains of Nepal. Journal of Nutrition 130, 2527–2536.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (1972) Food Composition Table for Use in East Asia. Food.Policy and Nutrition Division, Rome, pp. 334. URL: http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6878e/x6878e00.HTM (accessed 20th April 2011).Google Scholar
FAO/WHO/UNU (1985) Energy and Protein Requirements. Report of a Joint FAO/WHO/UNU Expert Consultation. WHO, Geneva.Google Scholar
FAO/WHO/UNU (2001) Human Vitamin and Mineral Requirements. Report of a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation. WHO, Geneva.Google Scholar
Gautam, R. & Thapa-Magar, A. K. (1994) Tribal Ethnography of Nepal. Book Faith, Delhi.Google Scholar
Gittelsohn, J., Thapa, M. & Landman, L. T. (1997) Cultural factors, caloric intake and micronutrient sufficiency in rural Nepali households. Social Science & Medicine 44, 1739–1749.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gorstein, J., Shreshtra, R. K., Pandey, S.Adhikari, R. K. & Pradhan, A. (2003) Current status of vitamin A deficiency and the National Vitamin A control program in Nepal: results of the 1998 National Micronutrient Status Survey. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition 12, 96–103.Google ScholarPubMed
Hirai, K., Nakayama, J., Sonoda, M., Ohno, Y., Okuno, Y., Nagata, K. et al. (1993) Food consumption and nutrient intake and their relationship among Nepalese. Nutrition Research 13, 987–994.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Institute of Medicine (1997) Dietary Reference Intakes: Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Fluoride. Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference Intakes, Food and Nutrition Board, National Research Council. National Academy Press, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Jones, K. M., Specio, S. E., Shrestha, P., Brown, K. H. & Allen, L. H. (2005) Nutrition knowledge and practices, and consumption of vitamin A-rich plants by rural Nepali participants and nonparticipants in a kitchen-garden program. Food and Nutrition Bulletin 26, 198–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kagawa, Y. (2005) Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan (fifth revised and enlarged edition). Kagawa Education Institute of Medicine, Tokyo.Google Scholar
McLennan, W. & Podger, A. (1995) National Nutrition Survey, 1995: Nutrient Intakes and Physical Measurements. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture (1994) Nutrient Contents in Nepalese Foods. Ministry of Agriculture, Kathmandu.Google Scholar
Moser, P. B., Reynolds, R. D., Acharya, S., Howard, M. P., Andon, M. B. & Lewis, S. A. (1988) Copper, iron, zinc, and selenium dietary intake and status of Nepalese lactating women and their breast-fed infants. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 47, 729–734.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ohno, Y., Hirai, K., Sato, N., Ito, M., Yamamoto, T., Tamura, T. & Shrestha, M. P. (1997) Food consumption patterns and nutrient intake among Nepalese living in the southern rural Terai region. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition 6, 251–255.Google ScholarPubMed
Parajuli, R. P., Umezaki, M. & Watanabe, C. (2009) Behavioral and nutritional factors and geohelminth infection among two ethnic groups in the Terai region, Nepal. American Journal of Human Biology 21, 98–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peter, R. B., Julia, K. & Sian, F. G. (2004) A review of the effectiveness of agriculture interventions in improving nutrition outcomes. Public Health Nutrition 7, 599–609.Google Scholar
Puwastien, P., Burlingame, B., Raroengwichit, M. & Sungpuag, P. (2000) ASEAN Food Composition Tables of Nutrition. Mahidol University, Thailand.Google Scholar
Shrimpton, D. H. (2002) RDAs – what do they really mean? Pharmaceutical Journal 268, 365–366.Google Scholar
SPSS (2004) SPSS Base 11.5User's Guide. SPSS Inc, Chicago.Google Scholar
Sudo, N., Sekiyama, M., Maharjan, M. & Ohtsuka, R. (2006) Gender differences in dietary intake among adults of Hindu communities in lowland Nepal: assessment of portion sizes and food consumption frequencies. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 60, 469–477.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tarasuk, V. (2006) Use of population-weighted estimated average requirements as a basis for daily values on food labels. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 83, 1217–1222S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tuntipopipat, S., Judprasong, K., Zeder, C., Wasantwisut, E., Winichagoon, P., Charoenkiatkul, S. et al. (2006) Chilli, but not turmeric, inhibits iron absorption in young women from an iron-fortified composite meal. Journal of Nutrition 136, 2970–2974.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
US Department of Agriculture (2008) National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 21. URL: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/cgi-bin/list_nut_edit.pl (accessed 20th April 2011).Google Scholar
Weiner, J. S. & Lourie, J. A. (1981) Practical Human Biology. Academic Press, London.Google Scholar
Whitehead, R. G. (1992) Dietary reference values. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 51, 29–34.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Willet, W. & Stampeer, M. (1998) Implications of total energy intake for epidemiologic analyses. In Willet, W. (ed.) Nutritional Epidemiolog. Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 33–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Word Health Organization (2004) Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations and its implications for policy and intervention strategies. Lancet 363, 157–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar