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Increased vitamin A intake in children aged 2–5 years through targeted home-gardens in a rural South African community

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Mieke Faber ,
Sonja L Venter  and
AJ Spinnler Benadé
Mieke Faber*
Affiliation:
Nutritional Intervention Research Unit, Medical Research Council, PO Box 19070, Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
Sonja L Venter
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Council, Roodeplaat, South Africa
AJ Spinnler Benadé
Affiliation:
Nutritional Intervention Research Unit, Medical Research Council, PO Box 19070, Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
*
*Corresponding author: Email [email protected]
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Abstract

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Objectives:

To determine vitamin A intake of children aged 2–5 years in a rural South African community one year after the implementation of a home-based food production programme targeting β-carotene-rich fruits and vegetables.

Design:

Dietary intake of children aged 2–5 years was determined during a cross-sectional survey before and one year after the implementation of a home-based food production programme.

Setting:

A low socio-economic rural African community, approximately 60 km north-west of the coastal city of Durban in kwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Subjects:

Children aged 2–5 years (n=100); 50 children from households with home-gardens producing β-carotene fruits and vegetables (project gardens), and 50 children from households without project gardens.

Results:

As compared with baseline data, there was a significant increase in vitamin A intake in children from households with project gardens as well as in children from households without project gardens. However, children from households with project gardens had a significantly higher vitamin A intake than children from households without project gardens. The increased vitamin A intake in those children from households without project gardens can be attributed to the availability of butternuts in the local shop (as a result of the project), and because the mothers negotiated with project garden mothers to obtain these fruits and vegetables for their children.

Conclusion:

A home-based food production programme targeting β-carotene-rich fruits and vegetables can lead to an increase in vitamin A intake.

Keywords

Dietary intakeVitamin AHome-gardensRuralChildren
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , February 2002 , pp. 11 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © CABI Publishing 2002

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