American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 5, 634-643, Copyright © 1957 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Dietary Survey on Rarotonga, Cook Islands

III. FEEDING PRACTICES AND GROWTH OF RAROTONGAN CHILDREN FROM BIRTH THROUGH SIX YEARS

A study was made of the child-rearing customs and some aspects of the growth of Rarotongan children concurrently with a family nutritional survey. It was found that administrative programs to alter the care and feeding of infants and young children on Rarotongan have had no profound effects. Rather, the desire of the Maoris to emulate Europeans in order to become successful in business has led to some changes in the rearing of children. A need for further study of the influences of changing social and economic conditions on maternal and child health is indicated, as is the desirability of education for the preparation of suitable dishes from indigenous foods for young children.

The vast majority of children under one year of age are partly or entirely breast-fed. Weaning usually occurs in the first nine to twelve months, with the most common period for the introduction of solid foods into the children's diets being between four and five months. Protein foods of high biologic value are not often added to infants' diets until the tenth month of life. Judged from observations and records, general child care and feeding varied greatly with individual mothers, there appearing to be few rigid cultural rules.

The growth of Rarotongan children was compared with that of American and native Samoan children and it was seen that up to nine months of age, and from two and one-half to 6 and one-half years of age, the Rarotongans were more comparable in weight to Iowan children. The hazards of the weaning period and the sudden necessity to learn to fend for oneself at meal times are reflected in both the height and weight charts of children between nine months and two and one-half years of age. Maori children are not as tall as Iowan children at any age but appear to be more muscular than their American counterparts.

Clinical signs of malnutrition are very rare, but general morbidity and infant mortality are high. It is concluded, from the data presented on this small sample and on the basis of the presence of good musculature and good performance, that Rarotongan children probably have an adequate intake of protein and calories after the age of two and one-half years. It appears even more definite that the diets of Maori females during gestation and lactation contain adequate protein and calories.

The failure of Rarotongan children to be as tall or taller than American children is surprising, in view of the fact that Polynesians are traditionally described as one of the tallest races in the world. The possibility has been explored that the children fail to meet these expectations because of some unfavorable environmental factors other than diet.