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Nutrients

Table 6 shows the intra-family nutrient intake by different age and sex groups, and table 7 compares the observed intake with requirements. The following discussion explains these tables.

The average calorie intake was 1.,975 kcal per person per day. Table 6 shows that the per capita male calorie intake consistently exceeded that of females in all age groups. Overall, males averaged 2,277 calories per capita in comparison to 1,849 calories for females. This may again be attributed to sex discrimination against females in intrafamily allocation of food. It is apparent from table 7 that no age groups among children, adolescents, and mothers (pregnant, lactating, or both) satisfied calorie requirements. Among children and adolescents a greater deficiency was found in lower age groups, ranging from 28 to 52 per cent for children and 2 to 24 per cent for adolescent males and females. Pregnant and lactating mothers were deficient by 29 per cent. This implies that children and mothers are nutritionally vulnerable and that policies and programmes ought to be directed towards improving their nutrition. Almost all other adults were able to meet calorie requirements. Interestingly, males and females of older age groups 160-69 and 70+) met 118 to 144 per cent of their requirement. This might reflect Eastern culture, wherein elderly parents receive special attention in the family.

Average protein intake was about 49 grams per person per day for all age groups in both sexes. This intake exceeded the requirement level by 9 per cent. The highest intake of protein (72.2 grams per person per day) was recorded for adult males 20-39 years of age, and exceeded the requirement by 35 per cent. Although the average intake was higher than the set requirement, boys and girls 1-12 years old and mothers (pregnant, lactating, or both) could not meet the requirement. The intake of children varied from a low of 16 grams to a high of 47.7 grams and met only 60 to 96 per cent of their requirement. The intake of mothers, on the other hand, ranged from 51 to 56.7 grams and met 66 to 99 per cent of the requirement. As children and mothers were also found to be deficient in calories, their protein deficiency would also be higher than the present figure (4). This is very alarming inasmuch as the physical and mental development of children is at risk.

TABLE 6. Intake of Nutrients (per person per day) of Different Age and Sex Groups

Age (years) Energy (kcal) Protein (g) Calcium (mg) Iron (mg) Vitamin A (µg) Thiamine (mg) Riboflavin (mg) Niacin (mg) Vitamin C (mg)
  M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F
Children (both sexes)
1 -3 659 16 122 8 94 0.46 0.28 4.0 5.0
4-6 1,245 31 184 16 234 0.90 0.46 8.86 10.0
7-9 1,575 40 233 20 273 1.34 0.58 11.17 11.38
Adolescents
10-12 1,912 1,745 48 43 292 246 24 21 326 137 1.37 1.22 0.71 0.58 13.02 10.59 15.43 10.09
13-15 2,327 1,973 58 49 301 307 29 24 184 419 1.69 1.32 0.82 0.67 16.5 13.65 11.84 13.82
16-19 2,828 2,199 70 55 373 280 33 25 270 147 2.04 1.51 0.92 0.78 17.87 16.74 15.02 12.17
Adults
20-39 3,154 2,254 79 55 390 295 36 27 241 315 2.19 1.55 1.02 0.74 20.94 14.30 18.39 16.02
40-49 2,955 2,115 75 53 437 265 38 25 409 352 2.15 1.55 1.08 0.78 19.24 15.64 22.2 11.42
50-59 2,791 2,114 72 52 428 308 35 24 431 204 1.99 1.41 1.10 0.67 22.24 13.55 17.55 11.55
60-69 2,840 2,134 69 52 401 328 34 25 258 193 1.82 1.43 0.90 0.71 16.63 14.05 14.27 16.90
70+ 2,776 1,830 71 45 369 283 32 23 308 205 2.05 1.18 1.07 0.59 23.34 12.16 18.39 13.75
Average
(both sexes) 1,975 49 273 24 243 1.39 0.69 13.35 12.82
Pregnant 2,068 51 339 25 610 1.38 0.73 11.38 19.01
Lactating 2,305 5 289 28 333 1.64 0.78 1 5.26 15.75
Pregnant and lactating 2,083 52 227 21 226 1.34 0.77 20.29 12.65

TABLE 7. Intake of Nutrients (per person per day) Expressed as a Percentage of the Requirement of Each Age and Sex Group

Age (years) Energy (kcal) Protein (g) Calcium (mg) Iron (mg) Vitamin A (µg) Thiamine (mg) Riboflavin (mg) Niacin (mg) Vitamin C (mg)
M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F
Children (both sexes)
1-3 48 60 31 107 38 85 34 45 25
4-6 68 91 46 213 78 123 42 73 50
7-9 72 77 58 267 68 152 44 77 57
Adolescents
10-12 76 78 96 88 49 41 323 285 57 24 132 130 46 41 76 68 77 51
13-15 81 90 133 122 50 51 216 132 25 58 154 148 50 50 91 93 40 46
16-19 92 98 132 127 75 56 471 118 36 20 167 182 51 63 89 123 50 41
Adults
20-39 101 96 135 130 98 74 511 129 32 42 175 194 55 62 102 109 61 53
40-49 98 105 127 125 109 66 549 120 55 47 190 207 64 70 103 127 74 38
50-59 99 118 123 123 107 77 502 115 57 27 195 199 72 63 132 116 59 38
60-69 118 134 118 122 100 82 489 117 34 26 200 227 66 76 111 135 48 56
70+ 140 144 121 107 92 71 457 108 41 27 259 215 90 71 178 134 61 46
Average
(both sexes) 87 109 61 182 40 154 51 70 49
Pregnant 90 99 34 112 81 153 54 76 63
Lactating 90 71 29 134 28 164 51 91 53
Pregnant and lactating 71 65 14 92 19 122 46 108 42

The intra family data show that average intake of calcium was 272 grams per person per day for the population as a whole. This is only 60 per cent of the minimum requirement. Children, adolescents, and mothers were found to be very deficient in this nutrient. Deficiency among children and adolescents of different ages demonstrated a trend similar to that of calorie deficiency, indicating that the younger the children the greater the deficiency will be. The average calcium intake of children met only 31 to 58 per cent of the requirement, while that of adolescents ranged from 41 to 75 per cent. Calcium intake of mothers was extremely low compared to their requirement, satisfying only 14 to 34 per cent of requirement. The situation for simultaneously pregnant and lactating women was the worst, as they fulfilled only 14 per cent of their requirement. Calcium intake was satisfactory for males 40-69 years old, but was inadequate for the rest of the study population. Interestingly, none of the females met the requirement. This may again be attributed to sex discrimination against females in intra-family allocation of food.

Iron intake was found to be very high (23.8 mg) in this survey. The intake was twice the requirement (182 per cent). Iron intake was recorded to be the highest (38.4 mg) among adult males 40-49 years old, whose intake was about 5.5 times (549 per cent) the requirement. Except for pregnant and lactating mothers, intake of iron met the requirement for both sexes and all age groups of the study population.

Average intake of niacin was calculated to be 13.35 mg per person per day for all age and sex groups. The average intake met only 70 per cent of requirement. Children, adolescent boys and girls 10-15 years old, and pregnant and lactating mothers were found to be deficient in this nutrient. Intakes of adult males and females of different age groups, in contrast, exceeded the requirement by varying amounts.

Vitamin C intake was 12.8 mg per person per day. This met only about 50 per cent of the requirement. Intake of th vitamin by all age and sex groups in the study population was found to be deficient in a range from 25 to 77 per cent. The highest deficiency of vitamin C was among children 1-3 years of age. They could satisfy only one-quarter of their requirement. Average vitamin C intake of males appeared to be higher than that of females. Deficiency was accordingly found to be greater in females.

TABLE 8. Intake of Nutrients (per person per day)-Income Group A

Age (years) Energy (kcal) Protein (9) Calcium (mg) Iron (mg) Vitamin A (µg) Thiamine (mg) Riboflavin (mg) Niacin (mg) Vitamin C (mg)
M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F
Children (both sexes)
1-3 653 16 96 8 50 0.46 0.25 4.28 3.92
4-6 1,194 33 168 16 240 0.90 0.45 7.86 10.36
7-9 1,544 38 219 20 289 1.15 0.55 10.07 12.12
Adolescents
10-12 1,801 1,510 43 36 265 271 24 19 435 235 1.36 1.15 0.65 0.55 10.50 8.54 15.25 10.94
13-15 2,135 1,745 54 43 328 248 29 20 344 508 1.63 1.35 0.75 0.60 13.90 11.80 14.00 12.90
16-19 2,471 2,188 63 57 385 302 32 25 476 162 1.89 1.66 0.87 0.80 14.40 17.70 12.60 13.90
AduIts
20-39 3,067 2,142 79 53 389 275 36 26 322 292 2.23 1.55 1.05 0.72 21.65 12.70 19.19 16.57
40-49 2,713 2,056 68 52 404 259 33 26 323 678 2.05 1.61 1.01 0.78 18.66 15.17 19.96 12.12
50-59 2,405 1,757 60 47 343 297 33 23 421 380 1.93 1.34 0.97 0.65 19.18 11.42 20.32 9.07
60-69 3,216 2,046 80 48 355 253 45 21 380 154 2.64 1.48 1.17 0.62 20.55 13.69 11.93 10.29
70+ 3,052 1,552 73 35 174 119 30 17 92 24 2.15 0.66 0.95 0.49 22.88 10.68 5.68 11.52
Average
(both sexes) 1,880 47 258 23 286 1.41 0.67 12.48 12.97
Pregnant 1,883 46 273 25 723 1.32 0.69 8.29 19.85
Lactating 2,273 58 302 27 310 1.67 0.82 16.57 17.65
Pregnant and lactating 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

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