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Background: Rates of mental illness in children are increasing throughout the world. Observational studies of depression, anxiety, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder suggest that zinc is an alternative treatment. Objective: We examined the effect of zinc supplementation on the mental health of school-age children in Guatemala. Design: From January to October 2006, we conducted a 6-mo randomized, double-blind, controlled trial comparing zinc supplementation (10 mg ZnO/d for 5 d/wk) with a placebo (10 mg glucose) in 674 Guatemalan children in grades 1-4. Outcome measures included internalizing (ie, depression and anxiety) and externalizing (ie, hyperactivity and conduct disorder) problem behaviors, positive behaviors (ie, socialization and leadership), and serum zinc concentrations. Results: Zinc and placebo groups did not differ significantly in any behavioral measures at baseline or at follow-up. At baseline, 21.4% of children had serum zinc concentrations doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2010.29686

Over the last 2 decades, many African countries have undergone dietary and nutrition transitions fueled by globalization, rapid urbanization, and development. These changes have altered African food environments and, subsequently, dietary behaviors, including food acquisition and consumption. Dietary patterns associated with the nutrition transition have contributed to Africa's complex burden of malnutrition—obesity and other diet-related noncommunicable diseases (DR-NCDs)—along with persistent food insecurity and undernutrition. Available evidence links unhealthy or obesogenic food environments (including those that market and offer energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods and beverages) with suboptimal diets and associated adverse health outcomes. Elsewhere, governments have responded with policies to improve food environments. However, in Africa, the necessary research and policy action have received insufficient attention. Contextual evidence to motivate, enable, and create supportive food environments in Africa for better population health is urgently needed. In November 2020, the Measurement, Evaluation, Accountability, and Leadership Support for Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention Project (MEALS4NCDs) convened the first Africa Food Environment Research Network Meeting (FERN2020). This 3-d virtual meeting brought researchers from around the world to deliberate on future directions and research priorities related to improving food environments and nutrition across the African continent. The stakeholders shared experiences, best practices, challenges, and opportunities for improving the healthfulness of food environments and related policies in low- and middle-income countries. In this article, we summarize the proceedings and research priorities identified in the meeting to advance the food environment research agenda in Africa, and thus contribute to the promotion of healthier food environments to prevent DR-NCDs, and other forms of malnutrition.Statement of Significance: In Africa, research and policy action to improve food environments, to reduce intake of suboptimal diets, and associated adverse health outcomes have received insufficient attention. This paper articulates previously unpublished priorities to advance the food environment research agenda, and to generate contextually relevant, fit-for-local purpose evidence to confront unhealthy food environments in Africa.

The effect of nutritional deficiency on work output and economic productivity is an important issue in developing countries, where many people are unable to obtain enough nourishing food. It has been suggested that during periods of nutritional deficiency, the body can alter its metabolism so that the functional capacity of the individual is not affected. However, there is little scientific data to support this claim. To investigate this issue further, a study was designed to test the hypothesis that reductions in nutritional intake cause reductions in work output, and that the reductions in work output can be reversed by giving high-energy dietary supplements. The effect of providing food supplements on work productivity was determined in subsistence farmers in The Gambia, West Africa, during months when food shortages occur and farming activities are greatest. Two groups of 16 men were each observed for work productivity and nutritional status during two six-week periods: one period involved no nutritional supplementation, while during the other period, three high-energy meals were provided to the men every day. Work productivity was assessed during the final three weeks of dietary supplementation and compared with productivity during the period when no supplements were provided. Body weight decreased during the period when supplements were not provided and increased during the time when they were provided. However, food supplements had no significant effect on work productivity. It is concluded that if workers are sufficiently motivated they can maintain normal work productivity during short periods of nutritional deficiency. But it is cautioned that the long-term effects of nutritional deficiencies on work productivity were not addressed and that they may be different from the short-term effects reported in this study. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Infant feeding guidelines are important public health strategies to promote optimal growth, development, and chronic disease prevention, but their effectiveness is contingent upon families’ ability to adhere to them. Little is known of adherence to guidelines among nutritionally vulnerable infants, specifically those born very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) (<1500 g). This study investigated whether postdischarge feeding practices for VLBW infants align with current recommendations and explored parental and infant baseline sociodemographics related to these practices. Prospectively collected data from families of 300 VLBW infants participating in a randomized clinical trial (ISRCTN35317141) were used. Baseline demographics were obtained at enrollment and postdischarge feeding practices via monthly telephone questionnaires to 6 months corrected age (CA). At discharge, 4 and 6 months CA, 72%, 39%, and 29% of infants received any amount of mother's milk, respectively; exclusive breast-feeding rates were 49%, 20%, and 6%, respectively. Among infants receiving mother's milk, rates of vitamin D supplementation were =83%. Recommendations for introducing solids between 4 and 6 months CA were followed by 71% of the cohort and for iron supplementation by 58%. Overall, 12% of infants adhered to all aforementioned recommendations. Mothers with university degrees were more likely to provide mother's milk, whereas mothers of Middle Eastern/South Asian ethnicity were less likely to provide mother's milk. Low rates of partial and exclusive breast-feeding of VLBW infants to 6 months CA were reported. Overall adherence to iron supplementation was low. Strategies to provide increased support for mothers identified as at-risk should be developed.

Abstract: Little is known about the food insecurity situation among families resettled into the United States as part of the refugee resettlement program. This paper reports on a pilot study examining food insecurity among recently arrived refugee families (n=33). Objectives were to evaluate the usefulness and feasibility of methods to assess the prevalence of food insecurity and child hunger, and to examine associations between child hunger and measures of socio-economic status and measures of acculturation. Results indicated that 85% of households were food insecure, and 42% experienced child hunger. Hunger was more likely to be indicated in households using foods stamps, with lower income, and lower education. Hunger was also more likely to be indicated in households where the primary shopper experienced difficulty shopping and with language. Results are in broad agreement with those reported in other studies and highlight economic and information barriers to achieving food security. These data suggest that further study of food insecurity is warranted among recently resettled refugee communities resettled in the United States.

A small-scale, prospective study of breastfeeding and weaning practices was conducted in a seminomadic pastoral population in northern Tanzania (Datoga of Mbulu District, Arusha Region). Focus group participants suggested that weaning patterns are strongly influenced by seasonal factors, and individual mothers often stated an intention to introduce adult staple foods and terminate breastfeeding at the end of the long rains. However, a combination of maternal self-perception, assessment of infant well-being, and indicators of household food supply influenced the actual progression of weaning for individual children. The results suggest that interventions to promote exclusive breastfeeding and improve complementary feeding practices in rural East African pastoral populations could build on maternal attention to infantcentered cues and address household-level constraints on caregivers making decisions about young child feeding.

Abstract: Cross-cultural studies have revealed broad quantitative associations between subsistence practice and demographic parameters for preindustrial populations. One explanation is that variationin the availability of suitable weaning foods influenced the frequency and duration of breastfeeding and thus the length of interbirth intervals and the probability of child survival (the “weaning food availability” hypothesis). We examine the available data on weaning age variation in preindustrial populations and report results of a cross-cultural test of the predictions that weaning occurred earlier in agricultural and pastoral populations because dairy and cereal production increased the availability of easily digestible, nutrientrich foods appropriate for weaning. We found that, contrary to predictions, supplementation with liquid foods other than breast milk was delayed in agricultural populations relative to less agriculturally dependent ones and complementary feeding with solid foods was delayed in pastoral populations relative to those less dependent on herding. Although the duration of breastfeeding was longer in populations dependent on hunting, there was no qualitative evidence that such populations lacked foods appropriate for weaning. The patterns observed suggest that the relationships between demography and subsistence observed among preindustrial societies cannot be explained by the “weaning food availability” hypothesis. We discuss the implications for understanding the mechanisms underlying prehistoric human demography, subsistence shifts, allocation to parenting and mating effort, and the evolutionary implications of tradeoffs between diet and disease.

Anthropometric dimensions for 180 women and 347 individual children (0–18 years) from a seminomadic population of Datoga pastoralists living in the Eyasi and Yaeda basins of northern Tanzania are used to assess the nutritional status of the population and the magnitude and prevalence of changes between late wet season and late dry season sampling periods (1989–1991). Results reveal high prevalence of undernutrition among both women and children. Almost one‐half of all women were chronically energy deficient (BMI < 18.5) and were estimated to have very low fat stores. Moderate seasonal decreases in fat stores were observed in longitudinal, and also inferred in cross‐sectional, samples of the women. The decreases were more marked among lactating individuals. Almost one‐half of all children showed evidence of growth retardation due to undernutrition. There was some limited evidence of decreased adiposity among children in the dry period relative to the wet period. Although drier ecological conditions are associated with decreased fat stores among both women and children, the change is of small magnitude. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 12:758–781, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Abstract: In this paper I use measures of childhood growth to assess from both an evolutionary theoretical and an applied public health perspective the impact of polygyny on maternal-child welfare among the Datoga pastoralists of Tanzania. I report that the growth and body composition of children varies in such a way as to suggest that polygyny is not generally beneficial to women in terms of offspring quality. Cross-sectional analysis of covariance by maternal marriage status revealed that children of first and second wives in polygynous marriages grow relatively poorly, that this is correlated with maternal physical status, and that the pattern is not modified by household wealth. I discuss how the dynamics of sexual conflicts operating during the formation and maintenance of marriages may be important factors in the etiology of poor child growth in this population, leading to complex patterns of variation in anthropometric indicators of both women and children. The theoretical conclusion is that improved evolutionary models of polygyny should be designed to examine the potential for adaptive tradeoffs between the currencies of offspring quality and quantity for all types of parents in a polygynous population. The practical conclusion is that a better understanding of the relationships between marriage practices and health outcomes would assist in the development of culturally appropriate health and nutrition interventions.

Relative profitability was compared for five vegetables (sweet corn, green bean, cabbage, tomato, Spanish onion) during the second and third years of transition from conventional to organic production practice. Input and output data developed in field experiments in 1991 and 1992 revealed average organic yields were significantly lower than those from conventional production systerns. Decreases ranged from 8 percent for green bean to 45 percent for tomato. Input costs were generally higher for organically grown crops than for those produced conventionally. As a result, profits to organic production were significantly lower than conventional at the same output price level. While all five conventionally produced vegetables showed positive profits per hectare ranging from $544 for green beans to $2,063 for cabbages, net returns from organic horticulture were negative for all five crops. The losses ranged from $732 for cabbages to $2,628 for tomatoes.

In May 2010, Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) was launched with the mandate to identify global challenges in health that could be supported through the Government of Canada’s Development Innovations Fund (DIF: $225 million over five years). The GCC offers a potentially excellent mechanism for taking Canada’s participation in global health challenges “to a higher level”. Recent GCC announcements raise new questions about the emphasis being placed on technological discovery or “catalytic” research. Missing so far are opportunities that the Fund could offer in order to support innovative research addressing i) health systems strengthening, ii) more effective delivery of existing interventions, and iii) policies and programs that address broader social determinants of health. The Canadian Grand Challenges announced to date risk pushing to the sidelines good translational and implementation science and early career-stage scientists addressing important social, environmental and political conditions that affect disease prevalence, progress and treatment; and the many unresolved challenges faced in bringing to scale proven interventions within resource-constrained health systems. We wish to register our concern at the apparent prioritization of biotechnical innovation research and the subordination of the social, environmental, economic and political context in which human health is either protected or eroded. On a créé en mai 2010 l’organisme Grands Défis Canada (GDC), qui a pour mission de déterminer les défis mondiaux de la santé susceptibles d’être soutenus par le Fonds d’innovation pour le développement (FID) du gouvernement du Canada (225 millions de dollars sur cinq ans). GDC pourrait être un excellent moyen de porter la participation du Canada à la résolution des défis mondiaux de la santé « à un niveau supérieur », mais les annonces récentes de GDC soulèvent de nouvelles questions quant à l’accent mis sur les découvertes technologiques ou la recherche « catalytique ». On n’a toujours pas vu la possibilité que le Fonds appuie des travaux de recherche novateurs portant sur i) le renforcement des systèmes de santé, ii) la prestation plus efficace des interventions existantes ou iii) des politiques et des programmes ciblant les grands déterminants sociaux de la santé. Les Grands Défis canadiens annoncés jusqu’à maintenant risquent de reléguer au second plan la recherche scientifique de transfert et de mise en oeuvre, les scientifiques en début de carrière qui s’intéressent aux importantes conditions sociales, environnementales et politiques influant sur la prévalence, l’évolution et le traitement des maladies, ainsi que les nombreuses difficultés non résolues lorsqu’il s’agit d’adapter des interventions éprouvées aux ressources limitées des systèmes de santé. Nous nous inquiétons du fait que l’on semble prioriser la recherche sur les innovations biotechniques et négliger le contexte social, environnemental, économique et politique dans lequel la santé humaine est soit protégée, soit érodée.

No abstract.