Vientiane - Lee Yay Sayaxang, a 27 year old student in his final year at the Faculty of Agriculture at the National University of Laos, beat over 260 other entrants to win the FAO Nutrition Quiz, receiving a 150 000 Kip prize.

Inspired by the signing of the new National Nutrition Policy, the Nutrition Quiz was a popular feature of the FAO stand at the recent Agricultural and Forestry Fair, held at Lao ITECC, which tested peoples’ knowledge with four questions related to good nutrition.

"Over 90 percent of people got three out of four questions correct. People knew that malnourishment is when a person's diet does not provide adequate calories, protein and micronutrients for growth and health," said Phouvahn Vonglokham, FAO consultant on nutrition.

"The majority of people also knew that 40 per cent of children in Laos are chronically malnourished and that malnourished children tend to get ill more than well nourished children.

"However only 30 percent of people knew that wild food such as insects can be a good source of fat and oil, calcium and protein.

"It is lucky that so many people enjoyed sampling some wild food at our stand and now they might understand how important wild food is to a well balanced diet."

Mr Sayaxang won a food basket, containing meat, oil, rice, noodles, fish sauce, nuts and vegetables worth 150 000 Kip.

More information at:
http://www.fao.org/world/laos/index_en.htm