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ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION |
1 From the Nutritional Intervention Research Unit, Medical Research Council, Parow, South Africa (PJvJ, MF, and AJSB); the Biostatistics Unit, Medical Research Council, Parow, South Africa (CJL); Harvest Plus, IFPRI, Washington, DC (PN); University of Wisconsin, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Madison, WI (SAT)
Background: ß-Carotene-rich orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) is an excellent source of provitamin A. In many developing countries, sweet potato is a secondary staple food and may play a role in controlling vitamin A deficiency.
Objective: The objective was to determine the efficacy of daily consumption of boiled and mashed OFSP in improving the vitamin A status of primary school children.
Design: Children aged 5–10 y were randomly assigned to 2 groups. The treatment group (n = 90) consumed 125 g boiled and mashed OFSP (1031 retinol activity equivalents/d as ß-carotene), and the control group (n = 90) consumed an equal amount of white-fleshed sweet potato devoid of ß-carotene for 53 school days. All children were dewormed to exclude helminthic infection. The modified-relative-dose-response test for vitamin A status was conducted before and after intervention.
Results: The estimated intervention effect for the ratio of 3,4-didehydroretinol to retinol (DR:R) was –0.008 (95% CI: –0.015, –0.001; P = 0.0203), which indicated a greater improvement in vitamin A liver stores in the treatment group than in the control group. The proportions of children with normal vitamin A status (DR:R < 0.060) in the treatment group tended to increase from 78% to 87% (P = 0.096) and did not change significantly (from 86% to 82%) in the control group (P = 0.267). These proportions were not used to test the intervention effect or within-group changes because the study was powered to test the intervention effect on DR:R.
Conclusions: Consumption of OFSP improves vitamin A status and can play a significant role in developing countries as a viable long-term food-based strategy for controlling vitamin A deficiency in children.
Key Words: Vitamin A status • modified relative dose response • ß-carotene • orange-fleshed sweet potato • efficacy • school-feeding program • South Africa
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