DIETARY ERRORS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 127, 24 February 1944, Page 3

DIETARY ERRORS

Too Much Meat And Sugar

The official statement that an average weekly meat ration of 2Alb. for adults and lioz. for younger children will probably be beneficial to the health of New Zealanders appears to be borne out by the book “Good Nutrition,” published not long ago by the Health Department in co-operation with the nutrition committee of. the Medical Research Council and the Otago Vuiveiwity authorities. A table printed in the book compares the average New Zealand consumption of staple foods with the amounts recommended as most desirable for tinman health by a technical commission of the League of Nations. The daily averages for foods containing animal protein are as follows, the recommended amounts being given (Ji parentheses: Meat, 11.8 oz. (3.40 z. ; milk. 0.6 pints (1.3 piuts) ; eggs (number), 0.6 (1.0); cheese, 0.30 z. (0.70 z. The average New Zealander, it is pointed out, consumes about three times as much meat and sugar as the League commission considers necessary, only bait as much milk and cheese, nearly as much butter as the recommended figure for ail f ats and'two-thirds of the recommended quantity of eggs. The authors consider that obvious resultt? from these and other dietary errors are the high incidence of dental decay, the numerous cases of goitre and the frequency of iron-deficiency anaemia, particularly among Maori women and Maori babies. Elsewhere the book slates that protein is essential for repairing and building tissues, and that meat is a rich source or it, as are fish, eggs, cheese and milk. Tt is also a rich source of phosphorus, iron and vitamin 82, but only a fair source of energy and of vitamin 151. lhe following comment is added 1-7 "Protein serves another useful purpose by stimulating the production of heat. The quantity eaten should be increased during cold weather, for it helps to keep us warm, and it should be lessened in summer or in hot climates. There is no evidence that more protein is needed for heavy muscular work, though there is a widespread tendency in all countries for those whose work entails severe physical exertion to take larger amounts of protein. Efforts to find out why, this is done have resulted in, demonstrating merely that muscular work require increased amounts of carbohydrate.”