Fruit and vegetable consumption, leisure-time physical activity, and sedentary behavior among children and adolescent students in Uganda.

INTRODUCTION: Fruit and vegetable (FV) intake and participation in leisure-time physical activity (PA) and in sedentary behavior in accordance with the recommendations are met in a minority of populations including children and adolescents. OBJECTIVE: To describe the frequency of FV intake, leisure-time PA, and sedentary behavior, assess compliance with international recommendations, and how selected factors are associated with these recommendations. METHODS: The FV consumption and PA questionnaire items previously assessed for reliability in a Ugandan setting were used to gather information about FV consumption, PA, and sedentary behavior among 621 children and adolescents attending schools in Kampala Uganda. The results of FV consumption and PA were categorized as adequate or inadequate while sedentary behavior was categorized as adequate or excess. The relationship between FV consumption, PA, and sedentary behavior with selected independent variables was verified by chi-square test statistic. RESULTS: Half of the participants (50%) reported inadequate fruit consumption, and 76% of them reported inadequate vegetable consumption. More children (68%) than young adolescents (52%) and older adolescents (44%) met their daily recommendation for fruit consumption. A similar trend was observed for vegetable consumption. Adequacy of FV intake was significantly associated with participant's age, level of education, school ownership, and type of school. Less of 8- to 17-year-olds (14%) than 18 years and above olds (41%) met their weekly recommendation for leisure-time PA. Majority of participants (54%) participated in acceptable levels of sedentary behaviors. Leisure-time PA was significantly associated with age category and school ownership while sedentary behavior was significantly associated with participant's age and education level. CONCLUSIONS: The intake of FV and participation in leisure-time PA was not adequate in the study population. A significant proportion of participants engaged in excess sedentary behavior. Developing and implementing strategies to increase FV intake and PA among children and adolescents in schools should be a national priority.

Prediction equations for body composition of children and adolescents aged 8-19 years in Uganda using deuterium dilution as the reference technique.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Body composition is important as a marker of both current and future health status. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a simple and accurate method for estimating body composition in field, clinical and research settings, if standard protocol procedures are followed. However, BIA requires population-specific equations since applicability of existing equations to diverse populations has been questioned. This study aimed to derive predictive equations for Total Body Water (TBW), Fat Free Mass (FFM) and Fat Mass (FM) determinations with BIA and anthropometric measurements in a population of children and adolescents aged 8-19 years in Uganda. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 203 children and adolescents aged 8-19 years attending schools in Kampala district (also referred to as Kampala city since the city is conterminous with the district), Uganda through a two-stage cluster sample design. Deuterium dilution method (DDM) was used as the reference measure while BIA and anthropometric measures were used to create the new body composition prediction equations through multivariate regression. RESULTS: The new prediction equations explained 88%, 87% and 71% of the variance in TBW, FFM % and of FM respectively with no statistical shrinkage upon cross-validation. The linear regression models proposed in this study were well adjusted with respect to TBW, FFM and FM. Log of TBW obtained by DDM = 0.0129 × Impedance index + 0.0055 × Age + 0.0049 Waist Circumference + 0.1219Ht2 + 2.0388. Log of FFM obtained by DDM = 0.0197 × FFM obtained by BIA - 0.0181 sex code - 0.00055 × Impedance + 3.1761. Log of FM obtained by DDM = 0.0634 × FM obtained by BIA - 0.1881 sex code + 0.0252 × Weight + 0.5273. CONCLUSION: The use of these equations for more accurate body composition assessment may facilitate identification of effective intervention strategies to prevent or combat overweight and obesity among children and adolescents. They may also assist in treatment of conditions where more accurate information on body composition measures is required.

Assessing the reliability of FTIR spectroscopy measurements and validity of bioelectrical impedance analysis as a surrogate measure of body composition among children and adolescents aged 8-19 years attending schools in Kampala, Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Accurate measurement of body composition in children and adolescents is important as the quantities of fat and fat-free mass have implications for health risk. The objectives of the present study were: to determine the reliability of Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) measurements and; compare the Fat Mass (FM), Fat Free Mass (FFM) and body fat percentage (%BF) values determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to those determined by deuterium dilution method (DDM) to identify correlations and agreement between the two methods. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 203 children and adolescents aged 8-19 years attending schools in Kampala city, Uganda. Pearson product-moment correlation at 5% significance level was considered for assessing correlations. Bland Altman analysis was used to examine the agreement between of FTIR measurements and between estimates by DDM and BIA.. Reliability of measurements was determined by Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: There was good agreement between the in vivo D2O saliva enrichment measurements at 3 and 4 h among the studied age groups based on Bland-Altman plots. Cronbach's alpha revealed that measurements of D2O saliva enrichment had very good reliability. For children and young adolescents, DDM and BIA gave similar estimates of FFM, FM, and %BF. Among older adolescents, BIA significantly over-estimated FFM and significantly under-estimated FM and %BF compared to estimates by DDM. The correlation between FFM, FM and %BF estimates by DDM and BIA was high and significant among young and older adolescents and for FFM among children. CONCLUSIONS: Reliability of the FTIR spectroscopy measurements was very good among the studied population. BIA is suitable for assessing body composition among children (8-9 years) and young adolescents (10-14 years) but not among older adolescents (15-19 years) in Uganda. The body composition measurements of older adolescents determined by DDM can be predicted using those provided by BIA using population-specific regression equations.

Optimized formulation and processing protocol for a supplementary bean-based composite flour.

Protein-energy malnutrition is the most serious nutritional body depletion disorder among infants and young children in developing countries, attributable to inadequate energy and nutrient intake, partly due to high dietary bulk of weaning and infant foods. The gruels fed to children are typically of low nutrient and energy density due to the low flour incorporation rate required for drinking viscosity. The aim of this study was to develop a nutritious product, based on common dry beans and other grains, suitable for supplementary feeding. The optimal processing conditions for desired nutritional and sensory attributes were determined using Response Surface Methodology. For bean processing, soaking for 6, 15, or 24 h, germination for 24 or 48 h, and cooking under pressure for either 10 or 20 min were the independent variables. The processed bean flour's total polyphenol, phytic acid and protein content, the sensory acceptability of the bean-based composite porridge and its protein and starch digestibility were dependent variables. Based on product acceptability, antinutrients and protein content, as well as on protein and starch digestibility, the optimum processing conditions for the bean flour for infant and young child feeding were 24 h of soaking, 48 h of malting, and 19 min of steaming under pressure. These conditions resulted in a product with the highest desirability. The model equations developed can be used for predicting the quality of the bean flour and the bean-based composite porridge. Bean optimally processed and incorporated with grain amaranth and rice flours of a ratio of 40: 30: 30, respectively, resulted into flour with high energy, mineral, and nutrient density of the final porridge. The composite is well adaptable to preparation at rural community level. The use of these locally available grains and feasible processes could make a great contribution to nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa and other developing countries.