Objective: To evaluate and compare the nourishment of Lithuanian and Latvian seafarers at sea.
Material and methods: The present pilot study was comprised of 997 Lithuanian and 993 Latvian seafarers applying for obligatory medical examination. Participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire consisting of 44 questions. The questionnaire helped to obtain information on general data (age, education, position on ship, work record, types of ship, number of crew on ship, months of work on ship per year), medical care and health, smoking habits, usage of alcohol, weight, height, physical activity on ship, harmful factors at sea, nourishment on ship.
Results: At sea Latvian seafarers more often than Lithuanian seafarers took boiled and roast potatoes, porridge or flakes, cheese, curd cheese, meat, chicken, sound fruits and vegetables, eggs, coffee and juice. Every fourth seafarer drank coffee without sugar, every third put one teaspoonful, and every third--two teaspoonfuls of sugar into the cup. Twice more Lithuanians than Latvians drank tea without sugar (40.6 and 23.9%, respectively). About one-third of Lithuanian (32%) and less than a half of Latvian (40%) seafarers drank tea and coffee with two teaspoonfuls of sugar; 4-5% of seafarers put three and more teaspoons of sugar into their cup of coffee or tea. Latvian seafarers at the average consumed more white (2.1 slices) and French bread (1.9 slices) per day than Lithuanians (1.6 and 1.2 slices, respectively). Consumption of brown bread was almost the same--approximately 2.3 slices. More than a half (57.2%) of Lithuanians and 11% more of Latvians (68.2%) added salt to the food served on board. Approximately 2% of Latvian and 1.5% of Lithuanian seafarers added salt prior to tasting the food.
Conclusions: At sea Latvian seafarers more often than Lithuanian seafarers took boiled and roast potatoes, porridge or flakes, cheese, curd cheese, meat, chicken, sound fruits and vegetables, eggs, coffee and juice. On the average Lithuanian seafarers took less sugar than Latvian seafarers. Latvian seafarers consumed more white and French bread than Lithuanian seafarers. Latvian seafarers consumed more salt than Lithuanian seafarers.