Aquaculture and Child Nutrition Among the Tharu People in Rural Nepal: An Investigation of the Impact of Fish Comsumption and Methylmercury in Cultured Fishes on Child Health

Abstract

To explore potential impact of small scale aquaculture on child nutrition in rural Nepal, a cross-sectional study was carried out among the Tharu people in the southern districts of Chitwan and Nawalparasi. Anthropometric measurements of 111 children were taken to determine growth status, and mothers in 86 families were interviewed regarding fish consumption and socioeconomic, health, and demographic characteristics. To determine if fish consumption was related to high levels of mercury in human hair, hair samples from 66 mothers and 75 children were taken and analyzed. Average fish mercury values were determined from samples taken from commonly cultured fish species. Mothers and children who lived in families that owned fish ponds were found to consume an average of 453 and 1620 more grams of fish per month, respectively, than mothers and children who lived in families without fish ponds, but children in fish farming households did not have better growth than children in non-fish farming households. Mercury values in hair (average = 0.762 μg/g) and fish samples (average range of 0.005 – 0.100 mg/kg among all species) were below harmful levels. In multivariate analyses, no variables related to aquaculture were found to be associated with child growth. Aquaculture is encouraged as a way to increase consumption of fish with low mercury levels, and suggestions are made for changing aquaculture practices to benefit child nutrition.