Pan-African Conference 21 - 24 July 2002 Inter-Continental Hotel ...

Abstracts 10/22/02 11:26 AM Page 42
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ABSTRACT NO. 216. The use of armspan measurement to assess the
nutritional status of adults in four Ethiopian ethnic groups
De Lucia Emanuella 1 , Fikru Tesfaye 2 , Lemma Ferew 3 , Ismail Suraiya 1
1 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Public Health Nutrition Unit, 49
- 50 Bedford Square, London WC1 3DP
2 Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University,
Ethiopia, PO Box 11490
3 Jimma University PO Box 378, Jimma, Ethiopia
A cross sectional study was carried out to investigate the use of armspan as a
proxy for height in the assessment of nutritional status using body mass index
(BMI) for four ethnic groups in Ethiopia. Four regions in Ethiopia, namely
Oromia, Amhara, Tigray, and Somali Region were selected for the study.
A total of 1706 (884 males and 822 females) Ethiopians aged 18-59 years were
enrolled from the four different ethnic groups. Anthropometric measurements
(weight, height and armspan) were obtained using standard techniques. BMI
using height (BMI-ht) and using armspan (BMI-as) were calculated, t-tests and
analysis of variance were used to compare means, and linear regression to
investigate the relationship between BMI-ht and BMI-as.
The finding revealed ethnic and sex differences between height and armspan,
and their derived variables (BMI-ht and BMI-as). Armspan and height (r =
0.83-0.9), and BMI-ht and BMI-as (r = 0.89-0.97), were highly correlated in all
ethnic groups. BMI-as cut offs equivalent to the conventional BMI-ht
classification of chronic energy deficiency were similar in the Oromo, Amhara
and Tigre, but substantially higher in the Somalis.
It is concluded that armspan can be used as a proxy for height to estimate BMI,
but the relationship between the two measures varies considerably with
ethnicity and sex. Unless sex and ethnicity specific cut-offs are applied, the
use of BMI-as using conventional cut-offs will overestimate the prevalence of
underweight in these populations.
ABSTRACT NO. 217. Model program of the care and assessment of
nutrition and growth of children orphaned from AIDS living in a familystyle
group home
Ernst J1 , Ochieng T2 , Hidinger C1 , Heiser C1 , Odongo J2 1Children of the World 2449 North Boulevard #4106, Houston, Texas
2Children of the World's-St. Anne's Children's Home (COTW-SACH), PO Box 2639,
Kisumu, Kenya
Children from the Nyalenda Slum represent the first generation with a parentgeneration
lost to AIDS. Some suffer from AIDS. All live in poverty. They are
orphaned and have minimal access to health care, education, and psychosocial
services. Stunting and malnutrition, prevalent among Kenyan children,
indicates a diet poor in quality and quantity.
COTW-SACH, a community project, provides day care to 50 children and full
care to 15 children from the Nyelenda Slum. COTW supports SACH, a
program initiated in 1995 by the Odongo family. COTW, an organization
focused on families and community-based caretakers, develops programs that
address issues such as abandonment, neglect, exploitation, and disease
management. COTW faculty assists local directors with program oversight to
be trained and self-sufficient within 3 years. The use of integrated technologies
(IT) allows the development of a computerized system of data collection that
involves food cost analysis, accurate nutrient intake assessment, and
anthropometric measures over time. Care provider training and data reporting
support a medical nutrition e-mail dialog with in-country nutritionists and
other health care providers. The program emphasizes food safety and the
impact of interventions on growth and overall nutrition status. The NASA
Advanced Technologies program offers new technologies on water
purification, medical testing, food thermo stabilization and processing,
developed for the International Space Station, as applicable to developing
nations. Some IT services can generate revenue from the surrounding
community. The goal is to prove the model successful and enable expansion to
other sites in Kenya.
ABSTRACT NO. 223. A study on the prevalence of Salmonella in food from
road-side cafes in the Buea district of Cameroon
Nkuo Akenji TK, Aduh J, Ndip R.N.
Department of Life Sciences, University of Buea, P.O. Box 63, Buea, South West
Province, Republic of Cameroon
A total of 1200 food samples consisting of cooked rice, beans, beef stew,
chicken stew, and roasted beef obtained from road-side cafes in the Buea
July 2002, Vol. 15, No. 2 SAJCN (Supplement)
ABSTRACTS
district of Cameroon were analysed for Salmonella contamination. Buea was
divided into 4 zones based on socio-economic considerations and 300 samples
(60 of each food type) were tested in each zone. The prevalence of Salmonella
isolated in these foods from zones I, II, III and IV were 21%, 12%, 3.1% and 6%,
respectively with an overall prevalence of 10.1%. A significant difference in
prevalence was observed between zones 1 and II, III, IV and similarly between
zone II and zones III and IV (P