Vitamin A status of healthy children in Manisa, Turkey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vitamin A deficiency is a major public health nutrition problem in the developing world. Even subclinical Vitamin A deficiency is associated with increased childhood mortality. Severe maternal vitamin A deficiency may cause increased mortality in the first months of life. There have been a limited number of studies regarding vitamin A status in Turkey. The aim of this study was to assess vitamin A status of healthy children in Manisa, Turkey.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Vitamin A status of 100 healthy children aged 36-48 months is evaluated. The children were seen during routine examination. Serum retinol concentrations were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Duration of breast feeding, age solid foods introduced, use of supplementary vitamins, weight and height, and intake of specific groups of nutrients on a daily, weekly and monthly basis were collected from a questionnaire completed by the mothers. Height and weight z-scores were calculated according to national standards. Mothers of 20 of the 100 children were known to have normal serum and breast milk retinol concentrations. Children with normal serum retinol concentration were compared with the children with VAD. Student's t-test and Mann-Whitney test were used to compare independent variables. The Pearson correlation analysis test was used to test relation between numeric variables.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mean retinol concentration was 0.98 ± 0.32 μmol/L in the whole study group. Serum retinol concentrations were normal (>0.70 μmol/L) in 89% of the children. When children with normal serum retinol concentrations were compared with those with retinol concentrations lower than 0.70 μmol/L, there was no difference in terms of age, gender, weight and height at the time of study, z-scores, birth weight, birth length, duration of breast feeding, time to begin solid food, rate of supplementary vitamin use, and rate of infections (P > 0.05). There was not any relation between vitamin A concentrations and weight and height at the time of study, z-scores, birth weight, birth length, duration of breast feeding, time to begin solid food, vitamin use, and frequency of intake of specific groups of nutrients (P > 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study showed that VAD is a moderate health problem in Manisa.</p

Food And Nutrition Policies: What'S Being Done In Turkey

Objective: The aim of the present paper is to describe the development of the National Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition (NPAFN) for Turkey. Design: Access to a safe and healthy variety of food, a fundamental human right, was stressed by the International Conference on Nutrition and by the World Food Summit. In the International Conference on Nutrition in December 1992, one major commitment was the preparation of NPAFN. The NPAFN for Turkey was designed according to this commitment. Setting: Turkey. Results: To this end, under the coordination of the State Planning Organization, a Working Committee Report for National Food and Nutrition Strategy of Turkey was prepared and published, with the participation of different sectors. The goal of the prepared National Food and Nutrition Strategy for Turkey is to protect and promote health through and healthy nutrition and reduce the burden of diseases, while contributing to socio-economic development and a sustainable food security. Conclusion: In Turkey the NPAFN was developed and implementation has initiated. Nearly for all the actions, related projects are being developed.WoSScopu

Profiling of the Contents of Amino Acids, Water-Soluble Vitamins, Minerals, Sugars and Organic Acids in Turkish Hazelnut Varieties

Proximate composition, profiles of amino acids, sugars, organic acids, vitamins and minerals of fourteen Turkish hazelnut varieties harvested in 2013 and 2014 were investigated. Glutamic acid, arginine and aspartic acid were the most predominant amino acids, representing of about 50% of hazelnut protein. Individual amino acid profiles showed significant differences depending upon the harvest year (p<0.05). Concentration of sucrose was the highest followed by fructose, glucose, stachyose, raffinose and myo-inositol, respectively. Phytic acid was predominant organic acid in all varieties, followed by malic acid. Independent of the variety, hazelnuts were rich in pantothenic acid, nicotinic acid, pyridoxal, biotin, thiamine, nicotinamide. Pantothenic and nicotinic acid were significantly higher in most of the varieties in harvest year 2014. Potassium was the most predominant mineral, followed by magnesium, calcium, sodium, manganese, zinc, iron and copper, respectively.WoSScopu