- Title
- Intake of salt and sugar in grade five learners at underprivileged schools in Port Elizabeth compared to the intake at underprivileged schools in Johannesburg
- Creator
- Straub, Alycia
- Subject
- Children -- Nutrition -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Subject
- Children -- Nutrition -- South Africa -- Johannesburg
- Subject
- Hypertension
- Subject
- Obesity in children
- Date Issued
- 2018
- Date
- 2018
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MSc
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/33261
- Identifier
- vital:32614
- Description
- The literature clearly indicates that excessive amounts of salt and sugar, compared to the recommended amounts, are consumed by young children, leading to the earlier presentation of lifestyle diseases such as obesity, diabetes mellitus type 2 and hypertension (Lichtenstein et al., 2006; Grimes et al., 2013). The problem to address is that there is insufficient information available on the intake of sugar and salt in South African children, and more specifically in the Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth areas; this information is necessary to determine which prevention strategies should be developed. The aim of this study was to determine the current intake of salt and sugar of grade five learners at a sample of quintile three schools in Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth and to investigate whether there was a relationship between the sugar and salt intake and the BMI (kg/m2) and blood pressure (mmHg) of these learners. A baseline exploratory, quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study design was used. A non-random, convenient sampling method was used with a sample size of 220 consenting learners of Johannesburg and 350 of Port Elizabeth. A semi-quantitative adapted food frequency questionnaire was used to determine the current intake of salt and sugar in the learners. The data was analysed using the SPSS version 22 programme. Ethical clearance was obtained from the relevant bodies. The results were as follows: no significant differences were found between the frequency of consumption of any of the food items that were chosen to represent salt and sugar intake and blood pressure and BMI within either Johannesburg or Port Elizabeth. Therefore, no associations between salt and sugar intake and blood pressure and BMI were found within either area. When comparing the learners of Johannesburg with those in Port Elizabeth a few significant differences were found; mostly showing a weak association. However, there was a moderate association for sugar in tea/ coffee between the underweight and overweight/obese learners of Johannesburg compared to Port Elizabeth. Preferences, peer influence and food culture are suggested reasons for this significant difference. Recommendations of the study were the South African Food-based Dietary Guidelines “Use salt and foods high in salt sparingly” and “Use food and drinks that contain sugar sparingly and not between meals” should continue to be encouraged.
- Format
- xv, 147 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Health Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Alycia Straub.pdf | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |