Food Habits of Tanzania

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Children

"Children used to be healthy and very playful. They would then supplement with ripen bananas, pawpaw, avocados and other fruits available at the season. "

Interview 2005: Dr. Lillian Mwanri

"Parents did not need to worry much of what the children would eat as all was naturally available at the backyard. After farm work, parents would bring home things like peanuts and these would be chewed raw or after they were heated in a frying pan.

So adding all these, the children got the most important nutrients although nobody counted how much was available in these foods. There was not much choice between foods, but the locally available foodstuff provided the amount which was adequate to provide the RDA (recommended daily allowance) for specific age groups. Children raring never seemed to be a big issue because grandparents and older children assumed immediate responsibility and it did not appear to be a burden at all."

Source: Interview with Dr. Lillian Mwanri (Tanzania) 2005
Communicable Disease Control Branch
Public Health & Clinical Coordination
Department of Health,, Australia
http://www.dh.sa.gov.au/pehs

Children's foods

Ethnical group	Period of Lactation	Artificial feeding	Child's frist food	Publication	Year	PDF
Hadza or Watingdiga	prolonged until next pregnancy	Non	Rendered soft fat from the zebra and bone marrow, both raw and cooked were introduced in the early months; Followed by: thin gruel like mixture of uncooked powder, or the ground seeds of the baobab fruit (Adansonia digitata)*	Jelliffe et al.	1962	Reference: Jelliffe, D. B., J. Woodburn, et al. (1962). "The children of the Hadza hunters." Tropical pediatrics 60(6): 907-913.
Gogo children	12-18 months	Non	"Uji", cereal flour (maize, millet, or sorghum) was boiled in water until a gruel like consistency was achieved; Uji was given by the mother when brest ,milk was insufficient for child 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup/day to 2 1/2 cup when it grew older, Uji was given from 3 months on; Small amounts of cow milk during first year are added from 12-18 months on child consumed adults diet	Schaffer et. al.	1960	PDF The food and growth of Gogo children
Chagga	1 1/2 to 2 years	Non	From 3rd week of infants life cream, from cow's milk was given in very small amounts, with appearance of first tooth the baby started to eat other foods (child foods: made of banana, milk, water)	Lema N.T.	1963	PDF Tribal customs in infant feeding II-Among the Chagga

*Carr, W. R. (1957). "Notes on some southern Rhodesian indigenous fruits, with particular reference to their ascorbic acid content." Food research 22: 590.
Carr, W. R. (1958). "The baobab tree: a good source of ascorbic acid." Central African Medical Journal 4: 372

Jelliffe, D. B., J. Woodburn, et al. (1962). "The children of the Hadza hunters." Tropical paediatrics 60(6): 907-913.

Schaffer, R. D. a. F. F. (1963). "The food and growth of Gogo children."

Lema, N. T. (1963). "Tribal customs in infant feeding II-Among the Chagga." E.A. Med J 40: 370.

Diet and nutrient intake of Tanzania's children

This article provides interesting insights into the food patterns and nutrient intakes of East African children before 1970 and highlights the major influencing factors which brought about the changes.

Reference: Oltersdorf, U. (1971). Comparison of Nutrient Intakes in East Africa. Proceedings of a conference held in Blantyre, Malawi, International Biological Programme, 7 Marylebone road, London, NW1, England.

PDF: Comparison of nutrient intakes in East Africa

Was the nutrient supply for children in the Kilimanjaro area sufficient before 1968?

This survey on nutrition and diet carried out from the 5th until the 17th of August 1968 provides you with this information on: "Calorie supply of children"

PDF: Nutrition survey_Kilimanjaro area_1968

Customs, pregnancy and child rearing among seven tribes

This article provides interesting insights into:

• Marriage
  
• Pregnancy
  
• Delivery
  
• Indigenous drugs
  
• Placenta, cord
  
• Newborn
  
• Twins
  
• Beliefs
  

  Tribes:
  

• Wahehe
  
• Wagogo
  
• Waluguru
  
• Sukuma
  
• Wanyakyusa
  
• Wachaga
  
• Bahaya

  Reference: Moller, M. (1961). "African child health: custom, pregnancy and child rearing in Tanganyika." Journal of Tropical Paediatrics 7: 66-80.
  

  Food and growth of Gogo children
  

  This article provides you with information on:

• The infants diet
  
• Staple foods, snacks, meal pattern, diet
  
• Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the Gogo children's daily food intake
• Meal composition
• Meal preparation, cooking methods
  
• Growth curves of children
  
• Clinical findings
  

  PDF: The food and growth of Gogo children 1960
  

  Tribal customs among the Chagga
  

  This article provides you with information on

• Pregnancy and childbirth
• Feeding of the lactating mother and her diet before breast feeding
  
• Taboos, customs and preferences
  
• Breast feeding and food items of the infant
  
• Nurses
• The transition in the practices of childbirth, nutrition and infant feeding

  PDF: Tribal customs and infant feeding among the Chagga_1963
  

Nutrition and eye diseases among Mvumi and Mwanza school children

This report provides data on:

• Height and weight
  
• Nutritional signs
• Non nutritional eye conditions
  
• Anisometropia, strabismus and corneal scars
  
• Results of eye examinations
  
• Organisms found in conjunctival smears

  Reference: McLaren, D. (1960). "Nutrition and eye disease in East Africa: Experience in Lake and Central Provinces, Tanganyika." American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
  

  Nutritional studies in Tanzania
  

The following report provides you with data and information on infants and children on the following topics:

Survey name	Year	Survey area	Topics
Nutritional studies in Tanzania	1967	Moshi Tanga Mwanza Nzega	Anthopometric data for newborn infants
	1967	Wagogo Sandawe Wameru Masai Warufiji	Heights and weights Mean skinfold thickness during famine or drought
	1967	Dar-es Salaam	School feeding trial near Dar-es Salaam (height, weight, haemoglobin)
	1967	Tanzania	Protein calorie malnutrition, Annual incidence of Kwashiorkor, Anemia, Endemic goitre, Comparison of effects of withdrawing cabbage from and of adding iodine to the diet, Goitre incidence in certain areas of Tanzania, other deficiency states, Nutritional factors and other conditions, Flurosis, Number of deficiency signs

PDF: Reprinted from THE WORLD REVIEW OF NUTRITION AND DIETETICS Vol. 7, Latham, M. C, "Nutritional Studies in Tanzania, (Tanganyika) 1967", Copyright (1967), 31-71, with permission from S. Karger AG.

The children of the Hadza hunters

This article provides you with fascinating information child rearing, infant feeding and the diet of the Hadza children.

Reference: Jelliffe, D. B., J. Woodburn, et al. (1962). "The children of the Hadza hunters." Tropical pediatrics 60(6): 907-913.

What did children in Uyui in 1967 ate for school, what were their food taboos?

Read more about the food habits of the Tabora region in the following article and obtain information and data on:

• Food consumed during:
  1. Work
  2. School
  3. Travelling
  4. Illness
  5. Pregnancy and lactation
  
• Food taboos
  
• Child feeding practices
  
• Food storage and processing
  
• Agriculture
  
• Facilities in the house
  
• Staple foods and their use
  
• Food groups and their contribution to nutrient intake
  
• Calorie and nutrient requirements, intakes and sources
  

PDF: Report of a dietary survey in Tabora region_1967

 

Created by Verena Raschke 2005 / Contact