PGR News from the Pacific

Posted 1:16 PM by Luigi

Food Survey in Pohnpei

From Lois Englberger: I would like to give you a preview of an article coming out today in the Kaselehlie Press. This was written by Amy Levendusky. The findings are the result of painstaking work in making quantified estimates of dietary intake, using one of the most widely used dietary assessment methods, the quantified 24-hour recall. To see the article in print with the accompanying photos, turn to the KP Health Corner! For those readers not familiar with Pohnpei, the site of this study (Mand) is a rural village about 1 hour from the main town of the island.

Survey Indicates High Consumption of Imported Foods

by Amy Levendusky

A dietary assessment carried out in August 2005, in Mand, Madolenihmw [a village on Pohnpei Island] revealed that only 27% of the energy consumed by the adult female participants was from local food, the rest provided by imports. Among children an even smaller proportion of the energy consumed was from local foods (16%).

These results are from a random sample survey, conducted as part of the project entitled "Documentation of the Traditional Food System of Pohnpei" sponsored by the Island Food Community of Pohnpei. Yumiko Paul, of Pohnpei Department of Health, Welsey Hagilmai, of COM/FSM Land Grant, and Pelihna Moses of Mand Community served as the interviewers, assisted by Douglas Nelber, Department of Land and Natural Resources. In collecting the data,
a 24-hour recall method was used (asking adult participants to recall each food/drink item consumed in the past 24 hours and the amount, and to provide this information as proxies for their children). Data from 44 adult women and 27 children (aged 1-10 years) were obtained for two non-consecutive days.

The survey revealed that rice and fish were the two food items most frequently consumed by the women, followed by flour products (donuts, pancakes, bread and ramen), chicken and other meats, and banana and breadfruit (this was in the heart of the breadfruit season). Vegetables and fruits were not commonly consumed.

The survey also revealed that 62% of the protein consumed by the women was from imported sources. The levels of protein were sufficient but were far over the estimated requirements. The mean intake of protein for non-lactating (not breastfeeding) females was 109 grams per day, but the estimated requirement is only 45 grams.

On the other hand, vitamin intakes were very low. This puts the women and children at risk to infection and other health problems. The mean intake for the non-lactating female adults was 225 Retinol Equivalents (RE) (vitamin A is expressed by the combination of retinol from animal sources and provitamin A carotenoid from plant sources), but the estimated requirement for that group is 500 RE! Almost none of the children met the estimated requirements. Also very few of the children met estimated requirements for vitamin C. Only 63% of the non-lactating females met the estimated vitamin C requirements, the lactating adults doing better, 83% of them meeting the estimated requirements.

IFCP would like to thank the Mand community for making this project possible. We would also like to thank our collaborating partners including the Pohnpei Office of Economic Affairs, COM/FSM Land Grant, Department of Health, Department of Land and Natural Resources. Thanks are also extended to the Office of Economic Affairs and the Secretary of the Pacific Community (SPC) Pacific German Regional Forestry Project (PGRFP) for providing transport to the village and to the Centre of Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment (CINE), PGRFP, and Sight and Life for support funds and materials.



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Box 77 Nausori Fiji Islands Tel: (679) 3477044 Fax: (679) 3477546-400262 Email: apisainu@yahoo.com Dr Maurice Wong Service du Developpement Rural B.P. 100 Papeete Tahiti 98713 French Polynesia Tel: (689) 42 81 44 Fax: (689) 42 08 31 Email: maurice.wong@rural.gov.pf Mr Tianeti Beenna Ioane Head, Research Section Division of Agriculture Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural Development P.O. Box 267 Tarawa Kiribati Tel: (686) 28096-28108-28080 Fax: (686) 28121 Email : agriculture@tskl.net.ki; Beenna_ti@yahoo.com Mr Frederick Muller Secretary Ministry of Resources & Development P.O. Box 1727 Majuro 96960 Marshall Islands Tel: (692) 6253206 Fax: (692) 6257471 Email: rndsec@ntamar.net Mr Herman Francisco Director Bureau of Agriculture Ministry of Resources & Development P.O. Box 460 Koror 96940 Palau Tel: (680) 4881517 Fax: (680) 4881725 Email: bnrd@pnccwg.palaunet.com Ms Rosa Kambuou Principal Scientist PGR NARI Dry Lowlands Programme Laloki Agricultural Research Station P.O. 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DIVA-GIS	Wednesday, December 07, 2005 Posted 1:16 PM by Luigi Food Survey in Pohnpei From Lois Englberger: I would like to give you a preview of an article coming out today in the Kaselehlie Press. This was written by Amy Levendusky. The findings are the result of painstaking work in making quantified estimates of dietary intake, using one of the most widely used dietary assessment methods, the quantified 24-hour recall. To see the article in print with the accompanying photos, turn to the KP Health Corner! For those readers not familiar with Pohnpei, the site of this study (Mand) is a rural village about 1 hour from the main town of the island. Survey Indicates High Consumption of Imported Foods by Amy Levendusky A dietary assessment carried out in August 2005, in Mand, Madolenihmw [a village on Pohnpei Island] revealed that only 27% of the energy consumed by the adult female participants was from local food, the rest provided by imports. Among children an even smaller proportion of the energy consumed was from local foods (16%). These results are from a random sample survey, conducted as part of the project entitled "Documentation of the Traditional Food System of Pohnpei" sponsored by the Island Food Community of Pohnpei. Yumiko Paul, of Pohnpei Department of Health, Welsey Hagilmai, of COM/FSM Land Grant, and Pelihna Moses of Mand Community served as the interviewers, assisted by Douglas Nelber, Department of Land and Natural Resources. In collecting the data, a 24-hour recall method was used (asking adult participants to recall each food/drink item consumed in the past 24 hours and the amount, and to provide this information as proxies for their children). Data from 44 adult women and 27 children (aged 1-10 years) were obtained for two non-consecutive days. The survey revealed that rice and fish were the two food items most frequently consumed by the women, followed by flour products (donuts, pancakes, bread and ramen), chicken and other meats, and banana and breadfruit (this was in the heart of the breadfruit season). Vegetables and fruits were not commonly consumed. The survey also revealed that 62% of the protein consumed by the women was from imported sources. The levels of protein were sufficient but were far over the estimated requirements. The mean intake of protein for non-lactating (not breastfeeding) females was 109 grams per day, but the estimated requirement is only 45 grams. On the other hand, vitamin intakes were very low. This puts the women and children at risk to infection and other health problems. The mean intake for the non-lactating female adults was 225 Retinol Equivalents (RE) (vitamin A is expressed by the combination of retinol from animal sources and provitamin A carotenoid from plant sources), but the estimated requirement for that group is 500 RE! Almost none of the children met the estimated requirements. Also very few of the children met estimated requirements for vitamin C. Only 63% of the non-lactating females met the estimated vitamin C requirements, the lactating adults doing better, 83% of them meeting the estimated requirements. IFCP would like to thank the Mand community for making this project possible. We would also like to thank our collaborating partners including the Pohnpei Office of Economic Affairs, COM/FSM Land Grant, Department of Health, Department of Land and Natural Resources. Thanks are also extended to the Office of Economic Affairs and the Secretary of the Pacific Community (SPC) Pacific German Regional Forestry Project (PGRFP) for providing transport to the village and to the Centre of Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment (CINE), PGRFP, and Sight and Life for support funds and materials. * Comments: Post a Comment	Archive October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 January 2010 RSS Feed Alternative feed Contact Tevita Something new: Agrobiodiversity Weblog: For discussions of conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources of crops, livestock and their wild relatives. 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