Consumption of sweetened beverages among schoolgoing children in a densely populated township in Lilongwe, Malawi

Background The growing global childhood obesity pandemic has not spared lowincome countries like Malawi, where 8% of children below the age of five years are overweight. Globally, regular consumption of sweetened beverages is implicated among the factors that fuel childhood obesity. Despite the growing problem, there are no local studies on any aspect of sweetened beverage consumption among children in Malawi that could help in guiding interventions and public health nutrition policies. Aim We aimed to assess sweetened beverage consumption among school-going children in Chilinde, a densely populated township in Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi. Methods A total of 60 school-going children whose caregivers gave verbal consent were included, and a structured questionnaire was administered to the caregiver (or other knowledgeable and responsible member of the household) of each eligible child. Results Our results showed that 50 of the 60 children sampled were consuming a wide-range of sweetened beverages on a regular basis on any day of the week, mostly during meal times (n = 23), before going to school (n = 22), and after school (n = 19). One-third of the children were reportedly consuming up to 300 mL of several sweetened beverages per day. Conclusion Like in many countries around the world, consumption of sweetened beverages appears to be common among young school-going children in this urban setting in Malawi. As the country builds public health responses to the growing problem of non-communicable diseases, early preventive interventions among children should be given priority.

FEEDING AND DIABETES MELLITUS: PERCEPTION AND FOOD CONSUMPTION BY ELDERLY PEOPLE IN THE HINTERLANDS OF PERNAMBUCO

Objective: To evaluate the knowledge of diabetes diet and identify factors that may interfere with the adherence to nutritional therapy and food choices of participants in a Community Center for the Elderly in Sairé, PE. Methods: A quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study, which evaluated 39 attendees of that center, from July to August 2014, with or without diabetes mellitus. Two questionnaires were applied to assess socioeconomic data, nutrition knowledge and cultural factors, and check the consumption of food with high and low glycemic index. Data was analyzed using the Assistat Program 7.0 Beta version. Results: The majority of the respondents have knowledge about types of foods that may influence the treatment of diabetes mellitus, as 51.2% (n=20) reported knowing some food that can reduce the risk for diabetes onset or assist in its treatment. Most of the participants reported having acquired such knowledge through the television 35% (n=7) and conversation with peers 35% (n=7). Evaluation of the food intake evidenced higher consumption of foods with high glycemic index. However, among diabetic patients, foods with low glycemic index are consumed more times per week. Conclusion: The knowledge about nutrition and diabetes mellitus was considered adequate, but socioeconomic and cultural factors may interfere in the adherence to diet therapy for diabetes or in the food choices made by the individuals. However, food consumption was considered appropriate among diabetics.

SUSCEPTIBILITY TO BRUCHIDS AMONG COMMON BEANS IN UGANDA

The bean bruchids, Acanthoscelides obtectus Say and Zabrotes subfasciatus Boheman (Coleoptera: Bruchidae), are cosmopolitan pests of stored dry common beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris L. ), causing damage through reduction of grain quality and seed germination. Biological resistance to these bruchids was definitively established in non-cultivated bean accessions, and has been introgressed into a range of drybean market classes. However, existing resistance to bruchids in Uganda’s common bean germplasm has not been systematically studied. In this study, 45 bean genotypes from the National Bean-Breeding Programme (25 genotypes) and agroecologically diverse bean growing areas in Uganda (20 genotypes), were evaluated for postharvest bruchid resistance. None of the evaluated bean genotypes expressed resistance to either bruchid species, with all the 45 bean genotypes supporting bruchid development, reproduction and feeding. All genotypes were severely damaged by bruchids feeding, resulting in significant (P<0.05) reduction of seed germination. Reduction in seed germination was related to the number of emergence holes and seed size; small bean seeds damaged by up to 2 bruchid emergence holes had a 7.1% reduction in germination, while large bean seeds with a similar number of emergence holes showed a 25% reduction in germination. Whereas this study further confirms bruchids as important storage pests of beans causing direct loss through consumption of the seed and indirect loss through viability deterioration, the resistance to bruchids in the evaluated range of Uganda’s dry bean germplasm is inadequate for direct exploitation in a breeding programme.