The impact of home gardens on dietary diversity, nutrient intake and nutritional status of pre-school children in a home garden project in Eatonside, the Vaal triangle, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.Urban agriculture is a strategy poor urban, informal settlement residents adopt to reduce poverty and improve food security and child nutrition. It is widely asserted in the literature and development circles that household vegetable gardens can provide a significant percentage of recommended dietary allowances of macro- and micro-nutrients in the diets of pre-school children. These children are vulnerable in terms of food access and nutrition. The first five years of a child’s life are crucial to psychological well-being. This study set out to determine the impact of home gardens on access to food, dietary diversity and nutrient intake of pre-school children in an informal settlement in Eatonside, in the Vaal Region, Johannesburg, South Africa. The home gardening project was undertaken in five phases, namely the planning phase; a baseline survey (including quantitative food intake frequencies, 24-hour recall, individual dietary diversity questionnaires and anthropometric measurements); a training programme on home gardens; planting and tending the gardens and evaluating the impact of home gardens on access to food, dietary diversity and nutrient intake of pre-school children. Children aged two to five years (n=40) were selected to participate in the study. The sample population consisted of 22 boys and 18 girls. The children were categorised into three groups at the start of the project: children of 24-35 months (four boys and one girl), 36-47 months (four boys and five girls) and 48-60 months (14 boys and 12 girls). All but 10 per cent of the children’s consumption of foods in the food groups increased. At the start of the project, low consumption rates were observed for white tubers and roots, vitamin A-rich fruit, other fruit and fish. After the gardening project, the number of children consuming vegetables increased considerably. There was an increase in the intake of food groups over the period of the project. The number of children consuming vitamin A-rich increased the most, with all children (45 per cent improvement) consuming vitamin A-rich vegetables at the end of the project, compared with just over half at the start of the project. The consumption of vegetables increased with 78 per cent of the children consuming beans and 33 per cent beetroot. Most children (95 per cent) consumed cabbage, carrots and spinach post-home gardening. Seventy eight percent of children consumed beans by the end of the project, but only a third of the children had consumed beetroot during the post-project survey period. Intakes of all nutrients considered in the study improved by the end of the project, except for energy and calcium, which dropped marginally, but both remained at around 50 per cent below requirements. Twenty five percent of boys (24-35 months) were underweight and below the 50th percentile at the pre- and post-project stages. The same boys were severely stunted (on average -4.41 standard deviations below the third percentile). Of the boys aged 36-47 months, 25 per cent were stunted pre-project, but by the end of the project, this number had decreased to 50 per cent. Twenty one per cent of the older boys (48-60 months) were within their normal height for age. Twenty five per cent of girls were underweight (36-47 months). A slight change was observed in the 36-47 month group, where the mean changed from -0.14 standard deviations (below 50th percentile) pre-project to -0.5 (below 50th percentile) post-project. All girls aged 24-35 months were below -2 standard deviations pre-project. After the home gardening project, the figure dropped to 50 per cent. For girls aged 36-47 months, 25 per cent were below -3 standard deviations after the project, compared with 20 per cent pre-project. Height-for- age for girls aged 36-47 months dropped by 10 per cent below -2 standard deviation post-home gardening. Girls from 24 to 35 months were severely stunted [-3.02 (below 3rd percentile) pre- and -2.31 (below 5th percentile) post-project]. Stunting was observed in 36-47 months girls who had means of -2.39 (below 3rd percentile) and 1.86 (below 25th percentile) both pre-and post-gardening respectively and were at risk of malnutrition. The older girls were well nourished with means of height-for-age at -0.88 (below 50th percentile) pre-project and -0.92 (below 50th percentile) post-project. Home-gardening improved food access, dietary diversity, energy, protein, carbohydrate, fat, fibre, vitamin A and iron intakes, but did not make a significant impact on the malnutrition of the children in the project or ensure adequate intakes. Home gardens had a positive impact on height-for-age scores; but had no significant impact on mean weight-for-age and height-for-weight z-scores of the pre-school children. Increases in carbohydrate and fat intakes were shown to have the only significant impact on the children’s nutritional status and only with regard to improving height-for-age scores. The results show that the gardens did not have the expected impact on children’s nutrition, but confirm that increases in incomes from gardening are likely to have a greater impact through savings from consuming produce grown and selling produce to buy energy-dense foods for the children. This needs to be considered in nutrition interventions

The impact of home gardens on pre-schoolers nutrition in Eatonside in the Vaal Triangle, South Africa

Background: This study set out to determine the impact of home gardens on nutrient intake, access to food and dietary diversity of pre-school children. Objective: To determine the impact of home gardens on nutrient intake, access to food and dietary diversity of pre-school children in an informal settlement in Gauteng, South Africa. Design: Children aged two to five years (n=40) whose caregivers participated in a garden project participated in this study. Data was gathered using quantitative food frequency, 24-hour recall and dietary diversity questionnaires. The study compared the pre- and post-project food consumption frequencies, dietary diversity and nutrient adequacy. Results: Access to food and food consumption improved with the addition of nutrient-rich produce from the garden. The increase in dietary diversity was statistically significant. The mean nutrient intakes of iron and vitamin A improved but energy and calcium intakes dropped marginally. Conclusions: The level of malnutrition among the participating children was alarming at the start of the project. The home garden project in Eatonside improved access to food, providing readily available vegetables that improved the frequency of consumption of these vegetables and the dietary diversity of the participating children

The impact of home gardens on pre-schoolers nutrition in Eatonside in the Vaal Triangle, South Africa

Abstract: Background: This study set out to determine the impact of home gardens on nutrient intake, access to food and dietary diversity of pre-school children

Knowledge of Sugar in Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in South Africa: A Survey of Postgraduate Students

This survey investigated the level of knowledge of sugar in sugar-sweetened beverages by postgraduate students enrolled at the University of Limpopo in the 2019 academic year. A survey questionnaire was sent to three hundred and fifty-nine (359) students as a target population, and two hundred and seventy-eighth (278) questionnaires were returned. The results are based on 77% of the target population. On average, the respondents correctly answered just over half of the items on added sugar in SSBs, with M = 56.02% and SD = 22.03%. There is sufficient evidence to say that the level of knowledge of added sugar between male and female University of Limpopo postgraduate students are different (t (177) = 2.763, p = .011), using the 5% level of significance. Knowledge and awareness of added sugar are not sufficient components to influence the use of nutrition labels. The findings conclude that there is a relationship between gender and knowledge of added sugar in sugar-sweetened beverages and found that no relationship exists between BMI and knowledge of added sugar in sugar-sweetened beverages. There is a need for user-friendly terminology on nutrition labels

Ecotourism as a vehicle to reduce unemployment and poverty: The role of the community and employees.

Ecotourism has been positively linked to job creation, small business development and poverty alleviation. The article forms part of the larger study which seeks to assess the contribution of ecotourism to sustainable development in Umkhanyakude which is in KwaZulu Province in South Africa. Through a combination of simple random sampling and purposive sampling, 51 participants were selected from each of the four local municipalities, resulting in a combined total of 204 respondents overall. The study employed a parallel convergent design consisting of qualitative and quantitative research methods. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from programme officials, project managers and owners of ecotourism ventures; while questionnaires were applied to elicit data from community members. The results revealed that Ecotourism initiatives contributed to the alleviation of poverty and unemployment in areas like Mtubatuba (40%), Hlabisa (30%) and Umhlabuyalingana (20%). Adversely, the study found that ecotourism in Jozini was largely underdeveloped and under-resourced, with relatively low community perceptions (10%) about its benefits. Drawing on these results, it was concluded that despite lack of financial resources, opportunities exist to improve implementation of ecotourism through capacitation of local communities and institutionalisation of community-based sourcing models

Factors contributing to household food insecurity in Mhlontlo area, Eastern Cape, South Africa

South Africa is considered as food secure at national level, while households in the rural areas are food insecure. Since food is an essential basic human need, it is even constitutionally declared as a need to be protected. The Eastern Cape Province is characterised as one of the provinces which have high rates of food insecurity in the country. The study determines the extent to which the identified factors of household food insecurity contribute to the livelihood in the study area. The primary aim was to investigate whether the community was provided with assistance by different organisations to overcome the situation of being food insecure and, also the strategies employed by the government to improve the situation. The study comprised a sample of thirty-five respondents from the community and three governmental officials of Mhlontlo Municipality and Tsolo Agriculture and Rural Development. The study revealed that factors that contribute to food insecurity were high level of unemployment, underemployment and dependence on the State grants. The study also revealed that there is inadequate service from the government to promote programmes that could alleviate food insecurity through promoting substance farming. Community development programmes are unevenly distributed to the community due to the lack of communication, and households have abundance of land but food production is not frequent. Therefore, land is underutilised for food production. The study recommended that the Tsolo Municipality and the Department of Rural Development should establish suitable programmes such as agricultural support programmes through promoting subsistence farming

Phytochemical profiling and isolation of bioactive compounds from Leucosidea sericea (Rosaceae)

In the study, ultra-performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight–mass spectrometry analysis of Leucosidea sericea leaf and stem extracts led to the identification of various classes of compounds. Further chromatographic purifications resulted in the isolation of 22 compounds that consisted of a new triterpenoid named leucosidic acid A (1), an acetophenone derivative 2, a phloroglucinol derivative 3, three chromones 4–6, seven pentacyclic triterpenoids 7–13, a phytosterol glucoside 14, a flavonoid 15, and seven flavonoid glycosides 16–22. Nineteen of these compounds including the previously undescribed triterpenoid 1 are isolated for the first time from L. sericea. The structures of the isolated compounds were assigned based on their high-resolution mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance data. Some of the isolated triterpenoids were evaluated for inhibitory activity against α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and pancreatic lipase. Of the tested compounds, 1-hydroxy-2-oxopomolic acid (7) and pomolic acid (13) showed higher potency on α-glucosidase than acarbose, which is used as a positive control in this study. The two compounds inhibited α-glucosidase with IC50 values of 192.1 ± 13.81 and 85.5 ± 6.87 μM, respectively.National Research Foundation of South Africa, University of Pretoria and South African Nuclear Energy Corporation Ltd.http://pubs.acs.org/journal/acsodfBiochemistryChemistryGeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog

Triterpenoids from Protorhus longifolia exhibit hypocholesterolemic potential via regulation of cholesterol biosynthesis and stimulation of low-density lipoprotein uptake in HepG2 cells

The increasing incidence of hypercholesterolemia-related diseases even in the presence of the currently available cholesterol-lowering drugs indicates a need to discover new therapeutic drugs. This study aimed to investigate the hypocholesterolemic potential of two triterpenoids isolated from Protorhus longifolia stem bark. In silico techniques and in vitro enzyme assays were used to evaluate the potential inhibition of cholesterol esterase and HMGCoA reductase by the triterpenoids (ARM-2 and RA-5). The toxicity, modulation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) uptake, and associated gene expression were determined in HepG2 hepatocytes. In silico molecular docking revealed that ARM-2 compared with RA-5 has a relatively stronger binding affinity for both enzymes. Both triterpenoids further demonstrated promising in silico drug-likeness properties and favorable ADMET profiles characterized by high intestinal absorption and lack of CYP450 enzyme inhibition. The compounds further showed, to varying degrees of efficacy, inhibition of cholesterol micellization as well as both cholesterol esterase and HMG-CoA reductase activities with IC50 values ranging from 16.4 to 41.1 μM. Moreover, enhanced hepatic cellular LDL uptake and the associated upregulation of the LDL-R and SREBP-2 gene expression were observed in the triterpenoid-treated HepG2 cells. It is evident that the triterpenoids, especially ARM-2, possess hypocholesterolemic properties, and these molecules can serve as leads or structural templates for the development of new hypocholesterolemic drugs.http://pubs.acs.org/journal/acsodfam2024AnatomyBiochemistryGeneticsMicrobiology and Plant PathologyNon

The effect of infrastructural challenges on food security in Ntambanana, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Rural infrastructural inadequacies in South Africa are well documented, but their effects on local food security remain relatively unexplored. The present study investigated the effects of insufficient infrastructural services on food security issues at household and community level in the area of Ntambanana, which is characterised as a dry environment with few water reservoir facilities effective farming. Focus group discussions were held with existing groupings of men and women, and interviews were conducted with governmental officials and community members. A questionnaire then was used to confirm responses and test the reliability of information from the interviews. Our study found that there was poor infrastructure and inadequate support from relevant organisations; the roads were not in good condition limiting access to market facilities and other destinations and lack of an efficient and effective transportation system crippling the performance of small-scale farmers. Recommendations emerging from this study include the need for attention to be paid to address the fundamental deficiencies that hinder food security. Better infrastructure would enable rural areas to compete with the urban markets and to attract internal and external investors

The effect of infrastructural challenges on food security in Ntambanana, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract Rural infrastructural inadequacies in South Africa are well documented, but their effects on local food security remain relatively unexplored. The present study investigated the effects of insufficient infrastructural services on food security issues at household and community level in the area of Ntambanana, which is characterised as a dry environment with few water reservoir facilities effective farming. Focus group discussions were held with existing groupings of men and women, and interviews were conducted with governmental officials and community members. A questionnaire then was used to confirm responses and test the reliability of information from the interviews. Our study found that there was poor infrastructure and inadequate support from relevant organisations; the roads were not in good condition limiting access to market facilities and other destinations and lack of an efficient and effective transportation system crippling the performance of small-scale farmers. Recommendations emerging from this study include the need for attention to be paid to address the fundamental deficiencies that hinder food security. Better infrastructure would enable rural areas to compete with the urban markets and to attract internal and external investors