American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 9, 206-210, Copyright © 1961 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Diet and Serum Cholesterol Levels Among the "Black Caribs" of Guatemala

¹ From the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), Guatemala, C. A.

A nutritional and dietary survey was conducted among the Black Carib population of Livingston. Eighty-eight males and ninety-four females ranging in age from six to eighty-nine years were examined, and blood samples were obtained for blood typing and serum cholesterol determinations. The diets were markedly low in vitamin A, riboflavin and calcium, although upon clinical examination, no evidence of severe nutritional deficiencies was found. Body height, weight and arm skinfold thickness indicated a relatively well nourished population, although nearly 10 per cent of those over forty years of age had significantly elevated blood pressures. The serum cholesterol levels were found to be considerably higher than those observed among other rural lower income Guatemalans, and paralleled the higher total fat and greater contribution of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acid in their diets. Their serum cholesterol and dietary protein and fat intakes were only slightly lower than those of upper income persons in Guatemala and populations studied in the United States. Serum cholesterol levels observed in the Black Caribs are higher than in other Guatemalans living under similar circumstances. This is believed to be due primarily to dietary differences most probably in fat and proteins rather than to other environmental or social factors.