Nutrition problems of rice-eating countries in Asia / Nutrition Committee of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Date:
1948
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Nutrition problems of rice-eating countries in Asia / Nutrition Committee of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The “specific Atwater factors” provide a more scien- tific basis for the computation of calorie values than the general ones which only apply to diets of a certain type, uncommon in this region. Even for the most important staple foods of the tropics and the Far East, such as rice, maize, and millets, the information available on their digestibility is inadequate to justify a change of calorie conversion factors at the present time. The compilation of studies on the digestibility of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in tropical and Far Eastern foods, prepared by the Nutrition Division, makes it quite clear that many more such studies should be made with human beings. The Committee recommends this subject to laboratories in this region as a matter which urgently needs investigation. The tests should be made on people who normally consume the foods under investigaton and the diets should be prepared and cooked according to local custom. It is emphasized that standard tech- niques should be used; otherwise the results may be of little value. In these studies priority should be given to cereals, roots, and tubers which usually constitute the greater part of diets in this region. The Committee recommends that FAO, through National FAO Committees and the Organization’s proposed re- gional office, should collect and disseminate all available data on the chemical composition of tropical and Far Eastern foods. It should stimulate and co-ordinate studies, to be carried out on the lines indicated above, on the composition and physiological value of foods commonly used in this region, and assist in the wide distribution of published material. Such work should be greatly facilitated by the establishment of the FAO regional office. [18 ]
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