NUTRITIONAL-STATUS AND BLOOD PRESSURES OF ADULTS IN NORTHERN GAZANKULU

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  • 1 January 1985
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 67  (19) , 773-775
Abstract
A random cluster sample survey of 432 adults aged 21-60 yr was undertaken to increase available information on the nutritional status of the inhabitants of northern Gazankulu [South Africa] and to discover the prevalence and distribution of hypertension. Mainly owing to the migrant labor system, only 9.3% of the people in the sample were men. The present nutritional status of adults is adequate by anthropometric standards. The absence of a secular trend towards increased adult stature indicates that no major improvement in nutrition and socio-economic conditions has occurred in the last 20-60 yr. Mean blood pressures were found to increase with age, but the prevalence of hypertension is low compared to urban populations.