Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Nutritionally Related Disorders/Diseases in Africans

Highlights of Half a Century of Research with Special Reference to Unexpected Phenomena

  • Chapter
Dietary Fiber in Health and Disease

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 427))

Abstract

It is really a tremendous honor to have been asked to present highlights of half a century of research in Southern Africa, carried out by myself and numerous collaborators.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. McCance RA, Widdowson EM. Mineral metabolism of healthy adults on white and brown bread dietaries. J Physiol 1942; 101: 44–85.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Walker ARP, Fox FW and Irving JT. Studies in human mineral metabolism. The effects of bread rich in phytate phosphorus on the metabolism of certain mineral salts with special reference to calcium. Biochem J 1948; 42: 452–462.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Walker ARP. Cereals, phytic acid, and calcification. Lancet 1951; ii: 244–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Glatthaar II. Fiber, phytic acid and mineral metabolism. Nutr Rev 1992; 50: 246–247.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Walker ARP. Some aspects of nutritional research in South Africa. Nutr Rev 1956; 14: 321–323.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Walker ARP. Anomalies in the prediction of nutritional disease. Nutr Rev 1961; 19: 257–259.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Walker ARP. Nutritional, biochemical and other studies on South African populations. S Afr Med J 1966; 40: 814–825.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Walker ARP. South African Black, Indian and Coloured populations. In: Western Diseases: Their Emergence and Prevention. Eds. Trowell HC, Burkitt DR. London: Edward Arnold Ltd. 1981; p.285–318.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Walker AJ. Comparison of nutrient intakes of South African elderly rural black women in 1969 and 1989. J Hum Nutr Dietet 1992; 5: 169–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Drummond JC, Wilbraham A. The Englishman’s Food. London: Jonathan Cape, 1939: p.539.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Walker ARP, Dunn MJ, Dunn SE, Walker BF. Causes of admissions of rural African patients to Murchison Hospital, Natal, South Africa. J Roy Soc Health 1994; 114: 33–38.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Walker ARP. Cancer outlook: an African perspective. J Roy Soc Med 1995; 88: 5–13.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Walker ARP, Walker BF. Nutrition-related diseases in Southern Africa: with special reference to urban populations in transition. Chapter. Nutr Res 1995; 15(7): 1053–1094.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Walker ARP. Disease patterns in South Africa as related to dietary fiber intake. In: CRC Handbook of Dietary Fiber in Human Nutrition. 2nd ed. Chapter 7.8. Spiller GA, ed. Boca Raton: 1994; 491–495

    Google Scholar 

  15. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Manetsi B, Tsotetsi NG. Appendicitis in Soweto. South Africa: Traditional healers and hospitalization. J Roy Soc Health 1989; 109: 190–192.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Walker ARP, Segal I. Appendicitis: an African perspective. J Roy Soc Med 1995; 88: 616–619.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Bayo S, Parkin DM, Koumare AK, Daillo AN, Soumare S, Songare S. Cancer in Mali, 1987–1988. Int J Cancer 1990; 45: 674–684.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Sitas F, Pacella R. Cancer Registry of South Africa, 1989. Johannesburg: South Africanlnstitute for Medical Research, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Segal I, Cooke SA, Hamilton DG, Ou Tim L. Polyps and colorectal cancer in South African blacks. Gut 1981; 22: 653–657.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Lelake A, et al. Dietary fibre intake and chronic bowel diseases: Transit time in black and white adolescents in South Africa. S AfrJ Food Sci Nutr 1994; 6(2): 55–58

    Google Scholar 

  21. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Segal I. Fecal pH and colon cancer. Gut 1992; 33: 572

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Segal I, Hassan H, Walker ARP, Becker P, Braganza J. Fecal short chain fatty acids in South African urban Africans and whites. Dis Colon Rectum 1995; 38: 732–734.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Segal I, Walker ARP, Naik I, Reidel L, Daya B, de Beer M. Malabsorption of carbohydrate foods by urban blacks. S Afr wed J 1991; 80: 543–545.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Ehrich M, Aswell JE, van Tassell RL, Wilkins TD, Walker ARP, Richardson NJ. Mutagens in the feces of 3 South African populations at different levels of risk for colon cancer. Mutation Res 1979; 64: 231–240.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Parkin DM, Muir CS, Whelan SL. Cancer Incidence in Five Continents. Vol VI. IARC Scientific Publications. International Agency for Research on Cancer. Lyon, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Stelma S. Is breast cancer avoidable? Could dietary changes help? Internal J Food Sci Nutr 1995; 46: 373–381.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Schettler G. Cardiovascular disease during and after World War II: a comparison of the Federal Republic of Germany with other European countries. Prev Med 1979; 8: 581.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Walker ARP, Walker BF. Fat intake and the risk of breast cancer. N Engl J Med in press.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Walker ARP, Burkitt DP. Colonic cancer--hypotheses of causation, dietary prophylaxis, and future research. Am J Dig Dis 1976; 21: 910–917.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Sdokaria FI, Segal I. Changing patterns of admissions of black cancer patients to hospital in Soweto, South Africa. Cancer J 1993; 6: 180–183

    Google Scholar 

  31. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Segal I. Cancer patterns in three African populations compared with the United States Black population. Eur J Сппсеr Prev 1993; 2:313–320.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Funani S, Walker AJ. Characteristics of black women with breast cancer in Soweto, South Africa. Cancer J 1989; 2: 316–319.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Tsotetsi NG, Sebitso C. Sewedi D, Walker AJ. Case-control study of prostate cancer in black patients in Soweto, South Africa. Br J Cancer 1992; 65: 438–441.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Hill P, Wynder EL, Garbaczeweski L, Walker ARP. Effect of diet on plasma and urinary hormones in South African black men with prostatic cancer. Cancer Res 1982; 42: 3864–3869.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Walker ARP. Effect of low fat intakes and of crude fibre on the absorption of fat. Nature 1949; 164: 825.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Walker ARP, Arvidsson UB. Fat intake, serum cholesterol concentration, and atherosclerosis in the South African Bantu. Part I. Low fat intake and the age trend of serum cholesterol concentration in the South African Bantu. J Clip Invest 1954; 33: 1358–1365.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Higginson J, Pepler WJ. Fat intake, serum cholesterol concentration and atherosclerosis in the South African Bantu. Part II. Atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. J Clin Invest 1954; 33: 1366–1371.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Walker ARP. Fibrinolytic activity of whole blood from South African Bantu and White subjects. Am J Clin Nutr 1961; 9:461–472.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Anderson M, Walker ARP, Lutz W, Higginson J. Chemical and pathological studies on aortic atherosclerosis. AMA Arch Path 1959; 68:380–391.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Walker ARP. Coronary heart disease-are there differences in racial susceptibility? Am J Epidem 1969; 90: 359–364

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Walker ARP, Adam A, Küstner HGV. Changes in total death rate and in ischaemic heart disease death rate in interethnic South African populations, 1978–1989. S Afr Med.J 1993; 83: 602–605.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Walker ARP, Walker BF. The bearing of race, sex, age, and nutritional state on the precordial electrocardiograms of young South African Bantu and Caucasian subjects. Am Heart J 1969; 77: 441–459.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Segal I, Glatthaar II. Can lifestyle changes reverse coronary heart disease? Lancet 1990; 336: 625.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Walker ARP, Sareli P. Ischaemic heart disease in Belfast and Toulouse. Correspondence. Q J Med 1995: 88: 937–938.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Verschuren WMM, Jacobs DR, Bloemberg BPM, et al. Serum cholesterol and long-term coronary heart disease mortality in different cultures. Twenty-five-year follow-up of the Seven Countries Study. J A M A 1995; 274: 131–136.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Walker ARP, Sareli P. Coronary heart disease: Outlook for Africa. J Roy Soc Med in press.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Keil JE, Sutherland SE, Knapp RG, Lackland DT, Gazes PC, Tyroler HA. Mortality rates and risk factors for coronary heart disease in black as compared with white men and women. N Engl J Med 1993; 329: 73–78.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Morris JN. Recent history of coronary disease. Lancet 1951; i: 1–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Elmore-Meegan M, O’Riorden T. Africa on the precipice: An ominous but not yet hopeless future. J A M A 1993; 270: 629–631.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Walker ARP, Arvidsson UB, Draper WL. The composition of breast milk of South African Bantu mothers. Trans Roy Soc Trop Med Hyg 1954; 48: 395–399.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Walker ARP, Arvidsson UB, Politzer WM. The significance of low serum calcium values in the South African Bantu. S Afr Med J 1954; 28: 48–51.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Walker ARP, Arvidsson UB. Studies on human bone from South African Bantu subjects. Part I. Chemical composition of ribs from subjects habituated to a diet low in calcium. Metabolism 1954; 3: 385–391.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. Walker ARP, Richardson BD, Walker BF. The influence of numerous pregnancies and lactations on bone dimensions in South African Bantu and Caucasian mothers. Clin Sci 1972; 42: 189–196.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. Walker BF, Walker ARP, Wadvalta M. Cortical dimensions of second metacarpal in four ethnic groups of South African children. Trop Geogr Med 1973; 25: 65–70.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  55. Prentice A. Dibba B. Jarjou LMA, Laskey MA, Paul AA. Is breast milk calcium concentration influenced by calcium intake during pregnancy? Lancet 1994; 344: 411–412.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Cleaton-Jones PE, Walker ARP. Patterns of tooth vulnerability to caries in South African high school pupils. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 1980; 8:203–207.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Walker ARP, Dison E, Duvenhage A, Walker ARP, Friedlander I, Aucamp V. Dental caries in South African Black and White school pupils in relation to sugar intake and snack habits. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 1981; 9: 37–43.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  58. Woodward M. Walker ARP. Sugar consumption and dental caries: evidence from 90countxies. Br Dent J 1994; 176: 297–302.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Walker ARP. Nutritional and health implications of high and low intakes of sugar. Internat J Food Sci Nutr, 1995; 46: 161–169.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. Solomon, L. Bone density in ageing Caucasian and African populations. Lancet 1979: ii: 1326–1329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Walker ARP. Some aspects of the nutrition and physique of Bantu communities. Fed Proc 1961; 20: 328–334.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  62. Walker ARP, Walker BF. Weight, height and triceps skinfold in South African Black, Indian and White school pupils of 18 years. J Trap Med Hyg 1977; 80: 119–125.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  63. Hamill PVV, Drizd TA, Johnson CL, Reed RB, Roche AR, Moore WM. Physical growth: National Center for Health Statistics percentiles. Am J Clin Nut, 1979; 32: 607–629.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  64. Walker. ARP, Stein H. Growth of Third World children. In: Trowell HC, Burkitt DP, Heaton KW, eds. Dietary Fibre, Refined Carbohydrate Foods and Disease. London: Academic Press Ch 20, 1985; 331–334.

    Google Scholar 

  65. Walker ARP, Fletcher DC, Strydom ESP, Andersson M. Food preparations used in weaning urban Bantu infants. Br J Nutr 1955; 9: 38–41.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  66. Pelletier DL. The potentiating effects of malnutrition on child mortality: epidemiologic evidence and policy implications. Nutr Revs 1994; 52: 409–415.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  67. Walker ARP, Stein H. Shouldn’t we seek to know more about slower growth? Pediatrics 1983; 72: 747–748

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  68. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Vorster HH. Functional significance of mild to moderate malnutrition. Am J Clin Nutr 1990; 52: 178–179

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  69. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Glatthaar II. Is the lesser growth of African schoolchildren essentially prejudicial to their present and future health? Trop Geogr Med 1995; 47: 145–150.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  70. Walker ARP, Walker BF. School nutrition programmes-do they fulfil their purpose? Hum Nutr: Applied Nutr. 1986; 40A: 125–135.

    Google Scholar 

  71. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Walker AJ. Some biological characteristics of African black pupils who walk long distances attending school: a preliminary study. S Afi J Food Sci Nutr, 1993; 5(1): 14–17.

    Google Scholar 

  72. Dobbing J. Early nutrition and later achievement. Proc Nutr Soc 1990; 49: 103–118. 55 (Suppl): 1250S–1252S.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  73. Weindruch R. Caloric restriction and aging. Scientific American 1996; 274: 32–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Richardson BD, Smith PJ. Running performance in South African Bantu children with schistosomiasis. Trop Geogr Med 1972; 24: 347–352.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  75. Walker ARP, Arvidsson UB. Iron “overload” in the South African Bantu. Trans Roy Soc Trap Med Hyg 1953; 47: 536–548.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  76. McCance RA, Widdowson EM. Absorption and excretion of iron. Lancet 1937; 2: 680–684.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  77. Higginson K, Keeley KG, Anderson M, Walker ARP. Serum iron levels in siderosis due to habitually excessive iron intake. J Clin Invest 1957; 36: 1723–1725

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  78. Higginson J, Gerritsen Th, Walker ARP. Siderosis in the Bantu of Southern Africa. Am J Pathol 1953; 29: 779–815

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  79. Grusin H, Kincaid-Smith PS. Scurvy in adult Africans: a clinical, haematological and pathological study. Am J Clin Nutr 1954; 2: 323–325.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  80. Seftel HC, Malkin C, Schmaman A, et al. Osteoporosis, scurvy and siderosis in Johannesburg Bantu. Br Med J 1966; 1:642–646.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  81. Lynch SR. Iron overload: prevalence and impact on health. Nutr Revs 1995; 53: 255–260.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  82. Gangaidzo IT, Gordeuk VR. Hepatocellular carcinoma and African iron overload. Gut 1995; 37: 727–730.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  83. Wabinga HR, Parkin DM, Wabwire-Mangen F, Mugerwa JW. Cancer in Kampala, Uganda, in 1989–91: changes in incidence in the era of AIDS. Int J Cancer 1993; 54: 26–36.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  84. Walker ARP, Segal I. Hepatocellular carcinoma and African iron overload. Gut in press.

    Google Scholar 

  85. Alexander D, Ball MJ, Mann J. Nutrient intake and haematological status of vegetarians and age-sex matched omnivores. Eur J Clin Nutr 1994; 48: 538–46.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  86. Salonen R. High stored iron levels associated with excess risk of myocardial infarction in eastern Finnish men. Circulation 1992; 86: 803–811.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  87. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Labadarios D. High stored iron and risk of ischaemic heart disease. Circulation 1993; 88: 807–808.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  88. Blumberg L. Developments in tuberculosis. S Afr J Epidemiol Infect 1995; 10: 118–122.

    Google Scholar 

  89. Anonymous. Fifth national HIV survey in women attending antenatal clinics of the public health services in South Africa. October/November 1994. Epidemiol Comments 1995; 22: 90–96.

    Google Scholar 

  90. Baggaley R, Godfrey-Faussett P, Msiska R, et al. Impact of HIV infection on Zambian business. Br Med J 1994; 309: 1549–1550.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  91. Walker ARP. Does being natural make it good? World Health Forum 1984; 5: 344–345.

    Google Scholar 

  92. Editorial. The aged ailing African. Lancet 1973; ii: 1427.

    Google Scholar 

  93. Melby CL, Toohey ML, Cebrick J. Blood pressure and blood lipids among vegetarian, semivegetarian, and nonvegetarian African Americans. Am J Clin Nutr 1994; 59: 103–109.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  94. Fonnebe V. The healthy Seventh-Day Adventist lifestyle: what is the Norwegian experience? Am J Clin Nutr 1994; 59(suppl): 1124S–1129S.

    Google Scholar 

  95. Knutsen SF. Lifestyle and the use of health services. Am J Clin Nutr 1994; 59(suppl): 1171S–1175S.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  96. Enstrom JE. Health practices and cancer mortality among active California Mormons. J Natl Cancer Inst 1989; 81: 1809–1814.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  97. Burkitt DP, Walker ARP, Painter NS. Effects of dietary fibre on stools and transit-times and its role in the causation of disease. Lancet 1972; ii: 1408–1412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  98. Burkitt DP, Walker ARP, Painter NS. Dietary fiber and disease. J A M A 1974; 229: 1068–1074.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  99. Peterkin BB. Dietary guidelines for Americans. J Am Dietet Assoc 1990; 90: 1725–1727.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  100. Bingham S. Dietary aspects of a health strategy for England. Br Med J 1991; 303: 353–355.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  101. Walker ARP, Saasa-Modise ML, Labadarios D. What are American children eating? Implications for public policy. Nutr Rev 1995; 53:333–335.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  102. Austoker J. Diet and cancer. In: Cancer Prevention in Primary Care. BMJ Publishing Group, London: 1995; pp.44–59.

    Google Scholar 

  103. Fitzgerald FT. The tyranny of health. N Engl J Med 1994; 331: 196–198.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  104. Foxhall LE. The tyranny of health. N Engl J Med 1994; 331: 1660.

    Google Scholar 

  105. McCormick J. Health promotion: the ethical dimension. Lancet 1994; 344: 390–391.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  106. Ryle JA. Social medicine: its meaning and its scope. Br Med J 1943; 2: 633–636.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  107. Walker ARP, Walker BF, Glatthaar II. impoverished Africa: any hope for the future? J Roy Soc Med 1994; 87: 157–160.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human Biochemistry Research Unit, Department of Tropical Diseases, School of Pathology of the University of the Witwatersrand South African Institute for Medical Research, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Alexander R. P. Walker

Authors
  1. Alexander R. P. Walker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    David Kritchevsky

  2. Clinical Review Associates, McLean, Virginia, USA

    Charles Bonfield

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Walker, A.R.P. (1997). Nutritionally Related Disorders/Diseases in Africans. In: Kritchevsky, D., Bonfield, C. (eds) Dietary Fiber in Health and Disease. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 427. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5967-2_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5967-2_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-7735-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-5967-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation