Faculty of Medicine, Aix-Marseille University, AP-HM, 13385 Marseille, France.
Food, Nutrition, Health, UMR QualiSud, French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), 34394 Montpellier, France.
Nutrients. 2023 Sep 3;15(17):3847. doi: 10.3390/nu15173847.
In Lao PDR, acute malnutrition remains a public health problem, with around 9% of children under 5 being affected. Outpatient treatment of severe acute malnutrition requires ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs), but concerns have been raised about the acceptability of globally available products. Culturally acceptable RUTFs could be locally developed, but data are lacking on RUTF preferences in Lao PDR.
In a crossover-designed study, four different RUTFs were tested for short-term acceptability and organoleptic qualities (two globally available: peanut-based, which is the current standard, and wheat-milk-based RUTFs; two regionally produced: a mung-bean-based and a fish-rice-based RUTF). Organoleptic properties were evaluated by 83 caretaker-child pair participants through a taste test and a 30 min consumption test. Short-term acceptability was assessed through a 3-day intake test. The study sites were in Phongsaly (North Laos) and Attapeu (South Laos). Focus group discussions were conducted at the beginning and the end of the study.
The mung bean RUTF was the favorite among caretakers, with an acceptability percentage of 96.2%, and scored better (-value < 0.05) for all organoleptic variables than the other three RUTFs. Overall, 3 days after receiving take-home rations, the mean percentage of consumption was above 80% for all the RUTFs, with the mung bean product being the most consumed.
The regionally produced mung bean RUTF was the most accepted, whereas the other regionally produced fish-based RUTF was the least accepted, showing the complexity of finding culturally acceptable solutions to fight malnutrition. For Lao PDR, a mung-bean-based RUTF seems the way forward, even if the current standard peanut-based RUTF appeared to be acceptable, albeit not the most preferred.
老挝人民民主共和国仍然存在急性营养不良这一公共卫生问题，约有 9%的 5 岁以下儿童受到影响。治疗严重急性营养不良的门诊治疗需要使用即食治疗食品（RUTF），但人们对全球现有产品的可接受性表示担忧。在文化上可接受的 RUTF 可以在当地开发，但老挝缺乏关于 RUTF 偏好的相关数据。
在一项交叉设计的研究中，对四种不同的 RUTF 进行了短期可接受性和感官质量（两种全球可获得的产品：基于花生，这是当前的标准，以及基于小麦和牛奶的 RUTF；两种区域生产的产品：基于绿豆和鱼米的 RUTF）的测试。83 对看护者-儿童对通过味觉测试和 30 分钟的消费测试来评估感官特性。短期可接受性通过 3 天的摄入量测试进行评估。研究地点在丰沙里（老挝北部）和阿速坡（老挝南部）。在研究开始和结束时进行了焦点小组讨论。
绿豆 RUTF 是看护者最喜欢的，接受率为 96.2%，在所有感官变量方面的得分都优于其他三种 RUTF（-值<0.05）。总体而言，在接受带离口粮后的 3 天内，所有 RUTF 的平均消耗率均超过 80%，其中绿豆产品的消耗量最大。
在文化上可接受的解决方案中，区域生产的绿豆 RUTF 是最受欢迎的，而其他区域生产的基于鱼类的 RUTF 是最不受欢迎的，这表明寻找文化上可接受的解决方案来对抗营养不良的复杂性。对于老挝人民民主共和国来说，基于绿豆的 RUTF 似乎是一种前进的方向，即使当前标准的基于花生的 RUTF 似乎是可接受的，但不是最受欢迎的。
