Biomedical subjects
J A Birkbeck
Publications and source records attributed to J A Birkbeck.
Vitamin K prophylaxis in the newborn: a position statement of the Nutrition Committee of the Paediatric Society of New Zealand.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Lack of long-term effect of the method of infant feeding on growth.
Although we have found that, at 7 years of age, children who were exclusively breast-fed in the first 3 months of life are significantly taller and slightly heavier than those exclusively formula-fed, correction for a variety of other familial factors can explain most of the differences. The breast-fed were longer at birth, had taller mothers, and came from families of higher socioeconomic status, although the last appears to act via maternal stature. There was no difference between the groups at age 7 in skeletal maturity, nor in fatness as measured by combined triceps plus subscapular fatfold. Apparent associations between the method of infant feeding and findings in later childhood must thus be interpreted with caution, since they may reflect differences between the characteristics of families choosing different methods of feeding rather than an effect of the feeding method itself.
Nutritional supplements for low birth weight infants.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Goat milk in infant nutrition.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Blood pressure in a cohort of Dunedin seven year olds.
Blood pressure, pulse measurements, socio-economic status, and anthropometric data were recorded in 982 children within approximately one month of their seventh birthdays. The means, standard deviations, and 95th centiles are reported for systolic, diastolic phase IV, and diastolic phase V blood pressure. There was no significant difference between the socio-economic levels for any measure of blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure was slightly but significantly higher in boys than in girls; this difference disappeared after correction for height. There were small but significant correlations between blood pressure and pulse rate, weight, height, arm circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, and indices of obesity and body size. After adjustment for weight, the associations of systolic blood pressure with height, body mass index, and arm circumference were no longer significant.
Tea and coffee as sources of some minerals in the New Zealand diet.
Daily intakes of tea and coffee of a representative sample of adult New Zealanders (865 men and 1100 women) were calculated from 24-h dietary recalls. The mineral concentrations in tea and coffee samples were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry and used to estimate daily mineral intakes from these beverages. More than 80% consumed tea and about 60% consumed coffee on the day of the recall. The men drank significantly more tea than the women (p less than 0.001), but coffee intakes were similar. The results indicate that for New Zealand adults tea is a very good source of manganese and it also contains appreciable amounts of potassium. Coffee is a better source of potassium than tea, has appreciable amounts of magnesium, and may contribute significantly to manganese intakes in some instances. The amounts of copper, zinc, sodium, calcium, and iron extracted from tea leaves and coffee beans in the brewing processes are too low to be of any nutritional significance but minerals in the water used in their preparation may make a significant contribution to dietary intakes.
The role of dairy products in the New Zealand diet.
New Zealand is both a major producer and large consumer of dairy products. In 1976, for example, daily per capita consumption of liquid milk averaged 471 ml, cheese 13.7 g/d, and butter 38.4 g/d, the last apparently the highest in the world. Recent studies of the dietary habits of New Zealand adults, and of children of early school age in Dunedin (Birkbeck, Guthrie, Herbert, personal communication) have provided information on the role of dairy products as source of nutrients. National consumption figures or family market basket surveys provide no information about individual intakes, since they do not reflect age or sex differences between consumers.
Obesity, socioeconomic variables and eating habits in New Zealand.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Skeletal maturity in seven year old Dunedin children.
A study of 433 boys' and 403 girls' left hand/wrist radiographs taken within 0.1 years of the child's seventh birthday shows that the median equivalent skeletal maturity using the TW 2 20-bone score is identical to the English standards, and the RUS score is only slightly above the standards. It is thus valid to use Tanner's standards when assessing New Zealand white children. The wide range of values in a healthy population is stressed.
Anthropometric studies on Dunedin five and six year old children.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Artificial feeding of infants: a statement of the infant nutrition subcommittee of the Paediatric Society of New Zealand.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Anthropometric measurements and physical examinations of Indian populations from British Columbia and the Yukon Territories, Canada.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Current practice in dietary management of diabetic children. A transatlantic comparison.
Dietary therapy practice in 18 British clinics for diabetic children is reviewed, and contrasted with Canadian and American practice. Values for dietary composition expressed as energy are presented for small groups of British and Canadian children. Fat is often the principal energy source in British diabetic children; protein intake is much higher in the Canadian. It is suggested that British practice might be improved by the adoption of a simple uniform exchange system. Reported differences in growth characteristics may reflect differences in protein intake.
Human foetal measurements between 50 and 150 days of gestation, in relation to crown-heel length.
Weights and a number of linear measurements were related to crown-heel length in fresh apparently normal foetuses ranging from 8 to 21 weeks' post-menstrual age. The average relationships agreed remarkably well with results reported many years ago on the basis of preserved specimens mostly from spontaneous abortions. There was no evidence of sex differences.