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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Ithaca, New York » Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health » Plant, Soil and Nutrition Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #354473
Title: Seasonal trends of nutrient intake in rainforest communities of northeastern Madagascar

Author
item GOLDEN, CHRISTOPHER - Cornell University
item VAITLA, BAPU - Harvard School Of Public Health
item RAVAOLINY, LAURENT - Pasteur Institute Of Madagascar
item VONONA, MIADANA ARISOA - Pasteur Institute Of Madagascar
item ANJARANIRINA, EVELIN - Pasteur Institute Of Madagascar
item RANDRIAMADY, HERVET - Pasteur Institute Of Madagascar
item GUTH, SARAH - Harvard University
item FERNALD, LIA - University Of California
item MYERS, SAMUEL - Harvard School Of Public Health
item Glahn, Raymond

Submitted to: Public Health Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2019
Publication Date: 5/21/2019
Citation: Golden, C., Vaitla, B., Ravaoliny, L., Vonona, M., Anjaranirina, E., Randriamady, H., Guth, S., Fernald, L., Myers, S., Glahn, R.P. 2019. Seasonal trends of nutrient intake in rainforest communities of northeastern Madagascar. Public Health Nutrition. 12:2200-2209. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980019001083.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980019001083

Interpretive Summary: Madagascar, with over 25 million people living in an area the size of France, is at a nutritional crossroads. Micronutrient-poor staples, especially rice, roots, and tubers, comprise nearly 80% of the Malagasy diet by weight. Here, we used dietary records sampled daily over the course of nearly one year to comprehensively characterize the consumption patterns of Malagasy people living in two localities of northeastern Madagascar. We compared the results of these daily dietary records to three commonly used food security and nutritional measurement indicators, the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS), the Food Consumption Score (FCS), and the 24-hour recall. HDDS and FCS confirm the high diversity of the diet, but generally fail to predict nutrient intake accurately. 24-hour recalls can predict true nutrient intake but only after exhaustive survey effort. Despite the diverse diet, when comparing household intake of a wide range of nutrients relative to estimated average requirements, adjusted for the demographic structure of each family, we found pronounced deficiencies. Malnutrition in Madagascar is multi-dimensional, indicating the need for more detailed biomedical and socio-economic research on the patterns and determinants of nutrient deficiency and sufficiency.

Technical Abstract: Madagascar, with over 25 million people living in an area the size of France, is at a nutritional crossroads. Micronutrient-poor staples, especially rice, roots, and tubers, comprise nearly 80% of the Malagasy diet by weight. Here, we used dietary records sampled daily over the course of nearly one year to comprehensively characterize the consumption patterns of Malagasy people living in two localities of northeastern Madagascar. We compared the results of these daily dietary records to three commonly used food security and nutritional measurement indicators, the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS), the Food Consumption Score (FCS), and the 24-hour recall. HDDS and FCS confirm the high diversity of the diet, but generally fail to predict nutrient intake accurately. 24-hour recalls can predict true nutrient intake but only after exhaustive survey effort. Despite the diverse diet, when comparing household intake of a wide range of nutrients relative to estimated average requirements, adjusted for the demographic structure of each family, we found pronounced deficiencies. Malnutrition in Madagascar is multi-dimensional, indicating the need for more detailed biomedical and socio-economic research on the patterns and determinants of nutrient deficiency and sufficiency.