Nutritional status and blood pressures of adults in northern Gazankulu.

A random cluster sample survey of 432 adults aged 21-60 years was undertaken to increase available information on the nutritional status of the inhabitants of northern Gazankulu and to discover the prevalence and distribution of hypertension. Mainly owing to the migrant labour system, only 9,3% of the people in the sample were men. The present nutritional status of adults is adequate by anthropometric standards. The absence of a secular trend towards increased adult stature indicates that no major improvement in nutrition and socio-economic conditions has occurred in the last 20-60 years. Mean blood pressures were found to increase with age, but the prevalence of hypertension is low compared to urban populations.