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HUMANNUTRITIONJennifer BlackTim GreenVancouver Enjoys Lowest Obesity RatesCould living in certain geographic areas impact your risk of obesity?That appears to be the case according to UBC nutrition researcherJennifer Black who found higher obesity rates in Canada’s easternprovinces, rural areas and northern Aboriginal communities than inWestern Canada.“It’s not randomly distributed,” says Asst. Prof. Black, who discoveredthe east-to-west gradient upon reviewing 24 studies about thedistribution of food and obesity in Canada conducted since 1997.Black’s findings show that women in Vancouver have the lowestobesity rates in the nation. For men, the lowest obesity ratesare in Richmond.Her next step is to look at the larger contextual issues for obesity ratessuch as family income, the availability of healthy and affordable foodand opportunities to be physically active.A registered dietitian, Black specializes in social determinants of healthand dietary choice. “I’m interested in how attitudes and behaviorsrelated to eating, cooking, food selection, and body weight shapenutrition and health.”Previously a post-doctoral fellow in UBC’s Dept. of Sociology, Blackjoined the Faculty’s Food, Nutrition and Health program in January.With LFS Nutrition Prof. Susan Barr, Black is also developingUBC research know-how and infrastructure to tackle data fromthe Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), the first set ofcomprehensive Canadian nutrition data generated in more than35 years. Released in 2004, the CCHS surveyed upwards of 35,000respondents from across the country on their dietary intake, vitaminand mineral supplement use, health risks and behaviors.Extra Vitamin D for Pregnant andBreast-feeding WomenBlame it on Canada’s watery winter sun, but women who are pregnantor breast feeding need to take vitamin D supplements, according tohuman nutrition researcher Tim Green.“Our preliminary data shows that Vitamin D levels in the mother’sblood are fairly low,” says Green, an associate professor in the Faculty’sFood, Nutrition and Health program and lead investigator of the studyfunded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.He explains that vitamin D is vital for bone health. Without it, babiescan develop rickets, a condition when bones are too soft and do notform properly. Green’s research partners include the BC Women’sHospital and Health Centre and the departments of pediatrics andobstetrics and gynecology at UBC’s Faculty of Medicine“Although we get a small amount of vitamin D from food, our bodiescreate it as it absorbs sunlight,” says Green. “And during the Canadianwinter, especially in Vancouver, there isn’t enough sun forthis to happen.”Green is exploring how much vitamin D pregnant and breast feedingwomen are currently getting and how much they should take assupplements to ensure health for themselves and their babies. Thestudy makes use of donated supplements created by Natural Factors.With more than 200 pregnant women as study participants, theresearch team is measuring the effect of vitamin D supplements onthe growth of the baby and on the bone health of mother and baby.As well, the study investigates the possible effect of skin colour onvitamin D levels. Skin with darker pigments, either naturally or froma tan, tend to absorb less light, and therefore affects the amount ofvitamin D the body produces. Researchers will measure how muchlight is reflected by a person’s skin using a device called a colorimeter.26 Faculty of Land and Food Systems Annual Report 2009 | 2010
International Nutrition StudentsLessons from RwandaSix of our International Nutrition students put their knowledge intopractice as part of a nutrition project in Rwanda this past spring.Led by Judy McLean, Adjunct Professor, Food, Nutrition & Health,the students spent between six weeks and three months in Rwanda,working in partnership with local students to conduct a householdsurvey on the causes of malnutrition.Gurjeet Kaur agrees. “The practical experience of being out in the fieldis very important,” she says. “You gain a different perspective when youare actually out there interacting with people.”Kaur is heading back to Rwanda in September to take part in thesecond stage of the project, which includes collecting more qualitativedata via key informant interviews, focus groups and discussions.“In rural Rwanda, one in five kids die before age five,” says McLean.“The diet, based on bananas and cassava, is partly responsible for thehigh rate of malnutrition, but poor infant and child feeding practicesand lack of clean water are more to blame. Diversifying crops isdifficult due to inadequate rainfall and lack of arable land.”The students surveyed more than 400 households in 40 villages. Theinformation collected will inform a nutrition intervention proposal.“You can study food security and nutrition, but it’s completely differentto experience it,” says Roberta Wozniak, a recent Nutritional Sciencegraduate who saw first-hand the challenges the country is facing.Outside a nearby orphanage, Wozniak met Pascasie, a 22 year old, HIVpositive, genocide orphan, and her 7-month-old son Chelsea. Shemeasured the boy’s mid upper arm circumference; it was the diameterof a loonie, indicating severe malnourishment.Although her son needed to be hospitalized, Pascasie didn’t have the$2 fee and so the hospital didn’t want to admit him. Thanks to thestudents’ intervention, however, the doctor eventually relented andtreated the child.“Navigating through the system, getting Chelsea treated and testedfor HIV- there’s no way I can teach the reality of that in the classroom,”McLean adds.Faculty of Land and Food Systems Annual Report 2009 | 2010 27
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