Nutritional status of Papua New Guinea highlanders

A nutritional survey was held in August, 1978, at Kalugaluvi (altitude: 1,500m) near Lufa, which is 60 km from Goroka, in the Eastern Highland Province of Papua New Guinea. Anthropometric measurements were carried out on 55 males and 37 females aged from 7 to 64 years. whereas the physiques of the children looked as good as those of Japanese of a comparable age, the adult men were shorter than Japanese males, but body weight and chest girth were similar. The skinfold thickness was less than that of the Japanese. From the data collected, it was shown that the physique of the Highlanders was more muscular than that of the Japanese. The food intakes and energy balances of 18 healthy men (20-40 years old) were measured over 2 or 3 consecutive days. The average consumption of sweet potatoes, the staple food, was 956 +/- 305 g per day. The average consumption of taro and yam was 93 +/- 124 g/day and 36 +/- 99 g/day, respectively. Various green leaves, sugar canes, corn, bananas and other foods. (i.e., rice and tinned fish) purchased from trade stores were sometimes eaten. The mean daily energy intake was 2.390 +/- 540 kcal, which was about the same as the daily energy expenditure. The daily protein intake was 35.2 +/- 10.7 g. These results are probably exceptionally high, because the survey was unfortunately held during the yearly festival season of the village when the people often ate fatty port. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that the growth of children and the physique of adults are normal in spite of the extremely low intake of protein.