Meeting the Nutritional Needs for the Children: The Role of Fish Products from the Emerging Aquaculture of Nepal

Abstract

Contributions of fish diet in the daily lifestyles for nutritional security of children are examined through trend analysis and individual questionnaire provided to the caretaker of children's group of 5 to 13 years, to address the issues of fish dishes, preferences, and nutritional awareness. The per capita fish consumption per person in Nepal is about 3.36 kg as compared to the world 19 kg and least developing countries 11kg. The pond aquaculture was most prominently carried with 95.5% pond area located where 2.48% in hills and only 0.39% in the mountain. People's preference for dishes is also one of the major factors to determine the choice for the fish variety as a commodity. Among different dishes, fried fish (91.2%), fish pakauda (50%), fish gravy (41.4%) were the three most preferred for the children of the age group of 5 to 13. Multiple regressions were run to find out the significance level of difference in nutrient availability among the prepared dishes. Rainbow trout, Tilapia, and Pangasius are the emerging fish species and the nutrient levels of cooked fish may vary; therefore, protein and calcium level of cooked fish’s proximate analysis was done. This showed that the protein content of Tilapia was low compared to cooked Trout and Pangasius, however, the level of calcium was higher in Tilapia than the Trout and Pangasius. The occurrence of a thin spine in the food was the major problem for the children, therefore, to increase fish consumption whole fish meat paste milling machine is recommended.

Int. J. Soc. Sc. Manage. Vol. 7, Issue-4: 198-201