1,720,976 research outputs found
Are processed fruits and vegetables able to reduce diet costs and address micronutrient deficiencies? Evidence from rural Tanzania
No full textAbstract Objective: To assess the impact of integrating processed fruits and vegetables (FVs) into diets in terms of diet cost reduction and ensuring nutritional adequacy year-round. Design: Market surveys were conducted to record foods. Focus group discussions (FGDs) and 24-hour dietary assessments – from children and women – were carried out to determine culturally accepted dietary habits. Six processed FVs were considered for addition to diets. Using the Cost of Diet linear programming tool, standards diets were first modeled, and subsequently, the processed FVs were included to analyze their impact. Setting: Rural Tanzania: Mtwara and Morogoro Participants: Market survey: 50 traders; FGDs: 40 women; 24-hour recalls: 36 infants 6-23 months, 52 children 6-13 years and 292 women. Results: The standard diet costs between TZS 232 – 2,368 (USD 0.3 – 3) daily for infants. For children 6-13 years, it costs between TZS 1,711 – 7,199 (USD 2.2 – 9.1) daily, and the cost for the women was between TZS 2,793 – 10,449 (USD 3.5 – 13.2). Addition of the processed FVs reduced diet costs by up to 61%, 48%, and 49% for children 12-23 months, 6-13 years, and women, respectively. However, for infants 6-11 months, costs rose by up to 127%. The processed FVs addressed all micronutrient gaps in the diets except for infants 6-11 months, where some micronutrient intakes were unfulfilled. Conclusions: Processed FVs could provide a feasible option to ensure availability of nutritious but cheap diets year-round. Hence, interventions to process FVs into nutritious and affordable products should extensively be pursued
Dietary Patterns as Characterized by Food Processing Levels and Their Association with the Health Outcomes of Rural Women in East Africa
No full textOverweight and obesity are rapidly rising in Sub-Saharan Africa including in rural areas. However, most studies focus on urban centers, and have attributed this epidemic to the consumption of processed foods without their clear characterization. This study investigated food intake patterns defined by food processing levels and their association with overweight/obesity in rural areas. Four 24-h dietary recalls, anthropometric measurements, and socio-demographic characteristics were collected from 1152 women in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The PCA method was used to extract patterns characterized by food processing levels. The association between patterns and overweight/obesity was ascertained with regression models. The overweight/obesity rate was 47%, 42%, 26%, and 38% in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and East Africa (as pooled data), respectively. Several patterns were identified, yet a “plant-based pattern” largely characterized by unprocessed and minimally processed foods and a “purchase pattern” mainly distinguished by highly processed foods were dominant. The “plant-based pattern” was inversely or not associated with overweight/obesity, while the “purchase pattern” had a positive association or no association. A clear distinction on processed foods as healthy and unhealthy should be made based on their nutrient provision to avoid their mischaracterization as unhealthy. Policies to reverse consumption of unhealthy processed foods while promoting healthy ones should be pursued
Fruit and vegetable processing and consumption: Knowledge, attitude, and practices among rural women in East Africa
No full textAbstract High post-harvest losses of fruits and vegetables (FVs) limit their supply and availability for year-round consumption. Hence, processing innovations at their production areas could help address this constraint, which requires the need to assess people's perceptions in these areas. Therefore, this study gauged the knowledge, attitude, and practices towards FV processing and consumption and its relationship with actual FV consumption. Surveys were conducted with women in six study sites – three fruit and three vegetable production areas – in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Quantitative 24-h dietary and 7-day FV recalls were collected across two seasons. Open and closed-ended questions were constructed to assess the women's knowledge, attitude, and practices towards FV processing and consumption. The fruit and vegetable sites included 584 and 732 women, respectively. Average fruit consumption was 4-135 g/day in the plenty season and 4-106 g/day in the lean season. Vegetable consumption was 112-146 g/day and 84-180 g/day in the plenty and lean season, respectively. There were significant consumption differences across seasons. Most women expressed high knowledge of FV processing and consumption benefits and showed a positive attitude towards FV processing and consumption. Yet, in practice, a small number of women process FVs largely due to limited processing know-how and equipment. The relationship between knowledge and attitude and FV consumption was negative or none. The high knowledge and positive attitude expressed, yet the limited processing know-how and equipment should be a basis for interventions to increase FV processing into nutritious products for better nutrition and to ensure their availability year-round.Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 501100005908Georg-August-Universität Göttingen 50110000338
Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems: Calculating the WISH Scores for Women in Rural East Africa
No full textDiets should be healthy for the benefits of both humans and the environment. The World Index for Sustainability and Health (WISH) was developed to assess both diets’ healthiness and environmental sustainability, and the index was applied in this study. Food intake quantities for single foods were calculated based on the data collected from four 24-h recalls during two seasons in 2019/2020 with women of reproductive age in two rural areas each in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda (n = 1152). Single foods were grouped into 13 food groups, and the amount of each food group consumed was converted to an overall WISH score and four sub-scores. The food groups with a low WISH score were fruits, vegetables, dairy foods, fish, unsaturated oils and nuts, meaning that their consumption was outside the recommended range for a healthy and sustainable diet. Contrariwise, the intake of red meat and poultry was partly above the recommended intake for those women who consumed them. The overall WISH score and sub-scores showed that the consumption of “protective” food groups needed to increase in the study population, while the consumption of “limiting” food groups was sufficient or should decrease. For future application, we recommend dividing food groups that are critical for nutrition, e.g., vegetables, into sub-groups to further understand their contribution to this index.Open-Access-Publikationsfonds 202
Seasonal Variations in Dietary Diversity and Nutrient Intakes of Women and Their Children (6–23 Months) in Western Kenya
No full textSeasonal variations in food availability and access contributes to inadequate nutrient intakes, particularly in low income countries. This study assessed the effect of seasonality on dietary diversity (DD) and nutrient intakes of women and children aged 6–23 months in a rural setting in Western Kenya. A longitudinal study was conducted among 426 mother-child pairs during the harvest and post-harvest seasons in 2012. Dietary intakes were assessed using 24-h dietary recalls and dietary diversity scores (DDS) and nutrient intakes calculated for both seasons. Effect of seasonality on women dietary diversity scores (WDDS) and children's dietary diversity scores (CDDS) were assessed using generalised linear mixed models (GLMM). The proportion of women consuming diets with high DDS (>4 out of 9 food groups) increased from 36.4 to 52.4% between the two seasons, with mean WDDS being significantly higher in November compared to July/August (4.62 ± 1.43 vs. 4.16 ± 1.14, P < 0.001). A significantly higher proportion of children consumed foods from ≥4 out of 7 food groups in November compared to July/August (62.4 vs. 52.6%, P = 0.004). Mean CDDS (3.91 vs. 3.61, P = 0.004) was low but significantly higher in November compared to July/August. Estimated marginal mean WDDS increased from 4.17 to 4.38, and decreased for CDDS from 3.73 to 3.60 between the seasons. Seasonality had a small but significant effect on WDDS, P = 0.008 but not on CDDS, P = 0.293. Increase in CDDS in November was due to age and not seasonal effect. Higher women education and household food security were associated with higher WDDS and CDDS. Intakes of iron, calcium and vitamin E were higher among women in November and significantly different between the seasons. Agro-ecological zone, ethnic group and home gardening influenced nutrient intakes of the women. Seasonality had an effect on the DD of women but not of children, thus other factors apart from food availability influence the quality of children's diets during the complementary feeding period. With increasing age and transition to family foods, children's DD is expected to be affected by seasonality. Integrated interventions to alleviate seasonal food insecurity and strengthen rural households' resilience against seasonal deterioration in diet quality are recommended
The Impact of Local Agrobiodiversity and Food Interventions on Cost, Nutritional Adequacy, and Affordability of Women and Children's Diet in Northern Kenya: A Modeling Exercise
No full textOpen-Access-Publikationsfonds 202
Variability of on-farm food plant diversity and its contribution to food security: a case study of smallholder farming households in western Kenya
No full textTraditional mixed agroforestry farms are regarded as sustainable agroecological systems contributing to agrobiodiversity conservation and household food and nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa. However, in Kenya little is known on the level of agrobiodiversity of these mixed farms and its contribution to food and nutrition security. A case study was conducted to assess food plant and livestock diversity and to identify the biophysical and socioeconomic factors influencing food plant diversity in 30 smallholder farms in Western Kenya. The survey identified six livestock species and 59 food plant species. Higher food plant species richness was found on farms managed by wealthier households and older household heads. However, households with high on-farm food plant richness and diversity were not more food secure than households managing species-poor farms. The nonsignificant relationship between food security and agrobiodiversity during the time of this case study may have resulted from the fact that the surveyed 30 families sourced significant proportions of their food from markets and did not fully depend on their farms for food, particularly for spices and condiments, fruits, and animal source foods. Therefore, we suggest a diversification of farms through livestock and fruit tree farming for improving dietary diversity and incomes of the surveyed households
Nutrition integrated agricultural extension—a case study in Western Kenya
No full textIntegrating nutrition communication in agricultural intervention programs aimed at increased food availability and accessibility in resource-poor areas is crucial. To enhance the sustainability and scalability of nutrition communication, the present study piloted the approach of ‘nutrition integrated agricultural extension’ and tested nutrition-related outcomes with two types of nutrition messages (specific vs. sensitive) and two delivery channels (public sector vs. private sector). The study intervention comprised (i) vegetable seed kit distribution, (ii) ongoing agricultural extension activities by public or private sectors and (iii) nutrition communication with two different messages. The intervention was tested with three treatment arms and reached 454 farmers (>65% female) in rural Kakamega County, Western Kenya. Pre-/post-surveys measured outcome variables focused on farmers’ nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes and practices in vegetable production and consumption, and household dietary diversity score. Results showed that all treatments increased nutrition knowledge (p < 0.05). Nutrition-specific communication was more effective than nutrition-sensitive communication. Nutrition communication through either the public or the private agricultural sector was both effective. Before the study intervention, many participants believed that vegetable consumption was beneficial and wanted to increase intake. After the intervention, the number of participants who felt eating more vegetables was challenging decreased slightly. Nutrition communication was found to be especially important in conveying recommended food amounts and promoting increased vegetable consumption. Seasonality affected on-farm crop diversity and vegetable consumption results in this study
Community-based educational intervention improved the diversity of complementary diets in western Kenya: results from a randomized controlled trial
Get PDFLack of diversity is a major factor contributing to inadequate nutrient intakes among children during the complementary feeding period in many rural areas in developing countries. This has been attributed to inadequate feeding practices and nutrition knowledge among their caregivers. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of an educational intervention on children’s dietary diversity and nutrition knowledge of caregivers.Cluster randomization was applied and twenty matched village pairs were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. The nutrition education intervention consisted of four sessions comprising of group trainings and cooking demonstrations that were conducted over a period of 5 months.Households in rural communities in Bondo and Teso South sub-counties, western Kenya.Caregivers with children aged 6–17 months receiving nutrition education.The children’s dietary diversity scores (CDDS) and nutrition knowledge scores of the caregivers improved significantly in the intervention group at endline. The treatment effect on CDDS was positive and significant (P=0·001). The CDDS rate of the children in the intervention group was 27 % larger than it would have been without the treatment effect. The intervention also had a significant effect on the caregivers’ nutrition knowledge scores (incidence rate ratio=2·05; P<0·001). However, the nutrition knowledge of the caregivers did not have a significant effect on CDDS (P=0·731).The nutrition education intervention led to improvements in children’s dietary diversity and nutrition knowledge of the caregivers
Changes in Vegetable Consumption in Times of COVID-19—First Findings From an International Civil Science Project
Full text linkThe crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic influenced food security and nutrition through both direct and indirect pathways. This ranged from short-term to long-term impacts, not only on health but also on food systems and thus on nutrition. This study aimed to identify how the observed constraints affected the food intake of populations across the globe. Here, special attention was paid to the consumption of vegetables and legumes and the diversity within these food groups. An online survey on Food and COVID-19 was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire translated into several languages. Binary logistic regression models and Poisson regression models were calculated to evaluate changes in consumption patterns and to test potential determinants for the changes. For more detailed information on reasons for changes open ended questions were analysed qualitatively. Time spend at home, working from home, and mental stress were important drivers for changes in dietary intake according to the 1,042 respondents included in this analysis. The participants observed a change in food quantity (38%) and vegetable intake (27%). No changes were observed for the number of vegetable groups consumed, while significant reductions in diversity were detected within all vegetable groups. Moreover, associations between the number of consumed vegetable types during the COVID-19 pandemic and income regions as well as gender were found. The regression analysis showed that the level of decrease in vegetable diversity in the different vegetable groups were often depending on educational and occupational status, gender and household environment. Changes in food prices were related to changes in vegetable intake per se, overall vegetable diversity, and diversity within the provitamin A rich vegetable group. Food systems are not static and are transitioning quickly as could be observed during the Covid-19 pandemic. There is a need for a nutrition strategy to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable households to consume a diverse diet in adequate amount even in times of a pandemic
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