Assessment of Anthropometry, Nutritional Compositions and Contribution of School Meals to the Daily Nutrient Requirements of Primary School Children from Rural Communities

Ijarotimi O. Steve,Omotayo S. Amos The Korean Society of Community Nutrition 2006 Journal of community nutrition Vol.8 No.4

The study aims to evaluate the nutritional status and influence of school meal intakes on RDA of primary school children in Akure community, Ondo State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 728 primary school children aged between 6 and 15 years. Data were collected using interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaires. The questionnaires collect information on demographic characteristics and home dietary intake of the subjects. The heights and weights of the children were measured using a standard procedure and height-far-age and weight-far-height z-score were determined. The children's school meal intakes were weighed for 4 days and samples were collected for chemical analysis. The results showed that 37.8% of the children were not wasted, 35.7% mildly wasted, 18.7% moderately wasted and 7.8% severely wasted. Also, 57.8% were not stunted, 29.3% mildly stunted, 11.0% moderately stunted and 1.9% were severely stunted. The subjects' home dietary intakes showed that 73.6% ate starchy food only, 19.9% ate protein based food, while 11.6% and 11.5% consumed fruits/vegetables and snacks to complement home meals respectively. The chemical composition of school meal was energy 379 - 413kcal, moisture content 5.9 -7.3g, carbohydrate 56.5 - 69.4g, fat 4.6 - 12.7g, crude fiber 0.1 - 2.4g, ash content 3.6 - 8.5g and protein 14.9 - 22.3g. The mineral contents were calcium 45.9 - 59.2mg, sodium 5004 - 59.6mg, zinc 2.3 - 3.1mg, magnesium 55.0 - 61.6mg, potassium 55.3 - 69.3mg, copper 0.2 - 0.3 mg, while others 1.3 - 1.9mg, 243 - 659mg and 831 - 9,510mg were iron, phosphorous and vitamin-A respectively. The contribution of school meals to subjects' RDA was within 2.9% and 1540%. In summary, school meal intake contributed positively to the RDA and nutritional status of the school children.

Assessing exclusive breastfeeding practices, dietary intakes and body mass index (BMI) of nursing mothers in Ekiti State of Nigeria

Ijarotimi, Oluwole Steve The Korean Nutrition Society 2010 Nutrition Research and Practice Vol.3 No.2

Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the infants. The benefits of breastfeeding practices to infants and mothers are well documented. However, information on breastfeeding practices and its effect on body mass index (BMI) of mothers are scarce, particularly in Ekiti State of Nigeria. Therefore, the present study is designed to assess breastfeeding practices and its association with BMI of mothers. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted among breastfeeding mothers that attended postnatal clinic of the state specialist hospitals and maternity centers in the study location. The specialist hospital and two-third of the nine maternity centers were purposively selected because of their health facilities and personnel. The mother-child pairs (200 respondents) were randomly selected from the study locations. Information on demographic characteristic, socio-economic parameters, nutritional knowledge of breastfeeding and dietary intakes of mothers were collected using questionnaires. BMI of mothers was determined as described by World Health Organization. Age distribution of mothers was between 25-34 years; and almost half of respondents had good educational background and were engaged in different occupations. The respondent monthly income ranged between = N = 3500 - 26000 ($26.92 - $200); and their dietary intakes varied between starchy and protein-based food. The result also showed that the respondent consumed enough nutrients to meet up the recommended daily allowance for protein, carbohydrate, fat, zinc, magnesium, sodium and phosphorous requirements. The BMI classifications showed that over three-fifth of respondents were normal, while the remaining were underweight (6%) and overweight/obese (26.5%). Also, large proportion of respondents engaged in exclusive breastfeeding and with good knowledge of breastfeeding practices. Statistically, exclusive breastfeeding practices had no correlation between the BMI and frequency of breastfeeding. The study, therefore, concluded that mothers had good knowledge of breastfeeding practice; and that there was no association between breastfeeding practices and BMI.

Protein and hematological evaluations of infant formulated from cooking banana fruits (Musa spp, ABB genome) and fermented bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranean L. Verdc) seeds

Ijarotimi Oluwole Steve 한국영양학회 2008 Nutrition Research and Practice Vol.2 No.3

Protein-energy malnutrition is regarded as one of the public health problems in developing countries as a result of poor feeding practices due to poverty. This study, therefore, aimed at evaluating nutritional quality of a potential weaning food formulated from locally available food materials. The cooking banana fruit (CB) and bambara groundnut seeds (BG) were purchased from local market in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. The CB and BG were processed into flours, mixed in ratios of 90:10, 80:20, 70:30 and 60:40 and subjected into proximate, sensory and biochemical analyses using standard procedures. Nutrend (a commercial formula) and ogi (corn gruel, a traditional weaning food) were used as control. The nutritient composition (g/100 g) of the food samples were ranged as follows: moisture 2.94-6.94, protein 7.02-16.0, ash 1.76-2.99, fat 0.76-8.45, fibre 1.52-3.75, carbohydrate 63.84-88.43 and energy 1569.8-1665.7 ㎉. The biological value (BV), net protein retention (NPR), protein efficiency ratio (PER) and feed efficiency ratio (FER) of the experimental food samples were significantly (p<0.05) lower than nutrend, but higher than ogi. The haematological variables of rats fed with formulated food samples, commercial formula (nutrend) and traditional weaning food (ogi) were not significantly (p>0.05) influenced by the dietary treatment. However, the values obtained for red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC), pack cell volume (PCV) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were higher in the experimental food samples than the commercial food. The growth rate of animals fed with experimental food samples were lower than those fed with the nutrend, but higher than those fed with ogi. In conclusion, the nutritional quality of CB and fermented BG mix of 60:40 ratio was better than ogi; and comparable to the nutrend. This implies that it can be used to replace low quality traditional weaning food and the expensive commercial weaning formula.

ASSESSMENT OF ANTHROPOMERY, NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITIONS AND CONTRIBUTION OF SCHOOL MEALS TO THE DAILY NUTRIENT REQUIREMENTS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN FROM RURAL COMMUNITIES

O. STEVE IJAROTIMI,S. AMOS OMOTAYO 대한지역사회영양학회 2006 Journal of community nutrition Vol.8 No.4

Nutrient Composition of Selected Medicinal Leafy Vegetables in Western Nigeria

O. Steve Ijarotimi,Ogechi Ekeh,O. Philip Ajayi 한국식품영양과학회 2010 Journal of medicinal food Vol.13 No.2

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the nutritional composition and consumption patterns of selected local leafy vegetables among families in Akure Township, Western Nigeria. The data collection involved administration of interviewer-structured questionnaires to the mothers. The questionnaire was designed to collect information on the medicinal and consumption pattern of vegetables. The chemical compositions of the vegetables were analyzed using standard methods. The nutrient composition of the vegetables showed that the protein content of Jathropha tanjorenses (40.94%) was significantly higher than the remaining leafy vegetable samples, whereas Curcubita pepo (8.25%) contained the least protein content. The fiber content of Solanum americanum (13.79%) was significantly higher when compared with other leafy vegetable samples. Also, the energy value of Baselia allia (401.68kcal) was the highest, whereas that of C. pepo (285.10kcal) was the lowest. Regarding mineral composition, J. tanjorenses had the highest contents of zinc, iron, and Na/K ratio, whereas Vernononia amygdalina and Solanum macrocarpon had the least and highest Na/K and Ca/P ratios, respectively. The consumption patterns of the respondents showed that one-quarter of the respondents consumed the vegetables regularly, whereas the remaining consumed occasionally or never consumed the vegetables. In conclusion, this study established that the leafy vegetables contained appreciable amounts of nutrients that could be of health and nutritional benefits to the consumers.

Assessing exclusive breastfeeding practices, dietary intakes and body mass index (BMI) of nursing mothers in Ekiti State of Nigeria

Oluwole Steve Ijarotimi 한국영양학회 2010 Nutrition Research and Practice Vol.4 No.3

Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the infants. The benefits of breastfeeding practices to infants and mothers are well documented. However, information on breastfeeding practices and its effect on body mass index (BMI) of mothers are scarce, particularly in Ekiti State of Nigeria. Therefore, the present study is designed to assess breastfeeding practices and its association with BMI of mothers. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted among breastfeeding mothers that attended postnatal clinic of the state specialist hospitals and maternity centers in the study location. The specialist hospital and two-third of the nine maternity centers were purposively selected because of their health facilities and personnel. The mother-child pairs (200 respondents) were randomly selected from the study locations. Information on demographic characteristic, socio-economic parameters, nutritional knowledge of breastfeeding and dietary intakes of mothers were collected using questionnaires. BMI of mothers was determined as described by World Health Organization. Age distribution of mothers was between 25-34 years; and almost half of respondents had good educational background and were engaged in different occupations. The respondent monthly income ranged between = N = 3500 - 26000 ($26.92 - $200); and their dietary intakes varied between starchy and protein-based food. The result also showed that the respondent consumed enough nutrients to meet up the recommended daily allowance for protein, carbohydrate, fat, zinc, magnesium, sodium and phosphorous requirements. The BMI classifications showed that over three-fifth of respondents were normal, while the remaining were underweight (6%) and overweight/obese (26.5%). Also, large proportion of respondents engaged in exclusive breastfeeding and with good knowledge of breastfeeding practices. Statistically, exclusive breastfeeding practices had no correlation between the BMI and frequency of breastfeeding. The study, therefore, concluded that mothers had good knowledge of breastfeeding practice; and that there was no association between breastfeeding practices and BMI.

Protein quality, hematological properties and nutritional status of albino rats fed complementary foods with fermented popcorn, African locust bean, and bambara groundnut flour blends

Oluwole Steve Ijarotimi,Oluremi Olufunke Keshinro 한국영양학회 2012 Nutrition Research and Practice Vol.6 No.5

The objective of this study was to determine protein quality and hematological properties of infant diets formulated from local food materials. The food materials were obtained locally, fermented, and milled into flour. The flours were mixed as 70% popcorn and 30% African locust bean (FPA), 70% popcorn and 30% bambara groundnut (FPB), and 70% popcorn, 20% bambara groundnut, and 10% African locust bean (FPAB). Proximate analysis, protein quality, hematological properties, and anthropometric measurements of the animals fed with the formulations were investigated. The protein contents of the formulated diets were significantly higher than that of Cerelac (a commercial preparation) (15.75 ± 0.01 g/100 g) and ogi (traditional complementary food) (6.52 ± 0.31 g/100 g). The energy value of FPAB (464.94 ± 1.22 ㎉) was higher than those of FPA (441.41 ± 3.05 ㎉) and FPB (441.48 ± 3.05 ㎉). The biological value (BV) of FPAB (60.20%) was the highest followed by FPB (44.24%) and FPA (41.15%); however, BV of the diets was higher than that of ogi (10.03%) but lower than that of Cerelac (70.43%). Net protein utilization (NPU) of the formulations was 41.16-60.20%, whereas true protein digestibility was 41.05-60.05%. Metabolizable energy (232.98 kcal) and digestible energy (83.69 ㎉) of FPAB were the highest, whereas that of FPA had the lowest values. The protein digestibility values corrected for amino acid score of the diets (0.22-0.44) were lower than that of Cerelac (0.52), but higher than that of ogi (0.21). The growth patterns and hematological properties (packed cell volume, red blood cells, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular volume) of the formulated diets were higher than those of ogi, but lower than those of Cerelac. In conclusion, we established that the FPAB food sample was rated best in terms of protein quality over the other formulated diets. Therefore, a FPAB blend may be used as a substitute for ogi.