A qualitative study on family meals in Western Samoa with special reference to child nutrition.

Early in 1951 a survey of eating habits was made in Western Samoa by the South Pacific Health Service. The purpose of the study was to observe the factors that influence the nutrition of the young Samoan child. In spite of a rapidly increasing population, the existing indigenous food supplies provide for the adequate nutrition of the people living in most areas. There are a few small islands where over-population is reflected by a poorer standard of nutrition, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Nutrition appears to be influenced more by dietary customs than by the availability of food. There are no cows in the villages in Samoa and so no fresh milk, but no kwashiorkor has been described from there. It is clear, therefore, that the problem of feeding the weanling child cannot be as acute as it is in many other parts of the tropics. There are, however, no grounds for complacency. In Fiji, where conditions among Fijians, but not among Indians, are much the same as in Samoa, sixteen cases of kwashiorkor among Fijian children have been described by Manson-Bahr (1952). In a report on the nutrition of Samoans, Bell (1950) considered that the low-protein diet of weanlings and toddlers caused them to lose condition and become susceptible to intercurrent infections. Although mortality statistics for Western Samoa are not very accurate the high percentage of total deaths reported for the age groups from 6 months to 2 years are very suggestive. The mean percentage of total deaths for different ages for the years 1947-50 inclusive* is shown below: