Palm oil: A pilot study of its use in a nutrition intervention programme

In developing countries under nutrition of children remains a major problem. In many areas this may be due to a deficit in energy consumption. The energy intake of 1-4 year-old Papua New Guinea Highland village children was increased by 15 per cent using a supplement of palm oil. This resulted in a significantly greater (1.66 kg) weight gain over a period of 9 months when compared to a control group (1.2 kg; p<0.01). Serum albumin remained normal. Further field study is needed to confirm this finding that palm oil supplementation in a high-bulk, low-protein diet is safe, effective, and culturally acceptable.