Nutritional enhancement of Ghanaian weaning foods using the orange flesh sweetpotato (Ipomea batatas)

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a public health problem in Ghana. Research on the orange flesh sweetpotato root has been given prominence because of its high β-carotene content as a means to enhance the nutritive value and vitamin A content of the traditional diets of Ghanaian children as a long-term intervention towards combating VAD. Two Ghanaian cereal-legume weaning foods: roasted maize- soy blend and fermented maize-soy blend were added to Orange Flesh Sweetpotato (OFS) flour from the variety, Beauregard, to develop four weaning food formulations. To each product formulation preparation, 25% and 50% OFS flour was added to the basic cereal-legume meals, and mixed thoroughly. The four weaning formulations were evaluated for chemical composition, sensory characteristics and consumer acceptability. All samples had a range of protein (12.1% - 15%), fat (4.8% - 6.4%), carbohydrate (71.1% – 75.1%), energy (380 - 390 kcal/100g) and minerals (calcium, iron and phosphorus) to ensure good nutrient density, while the moisture content was low (5.3% - 6.1%) for storage stability. The contribution of β-carotene (55.18–115.55 ug/g) by the OFS in the formulations further enhanced the nutritive value of all the blends and is enough to meet the daily β-carotene needs of the children (1-6 yrs of 400-450ug/100g). A higher level of β-carotene was seen in the roasted maize meal weaning foods which makes them a better potential blend for combating VAD. Also, sensory evaluation of the products indicated the highest consumer acceptability score (87%) for the roasted maize meal porridge formulation containing 25% OFS. It is, therefore, concluded that OFS flour has the potential to be used at 25% replacement level in the soy-fortified roasted maize meal formulation, and OFS is a useful ingredient with the potential to improve the β-carotene or vitamin A content of such formulations. This will help alleviate vitamin A deficiency of children in Ghana and other countries with similar problems. It is, therefore, recommended that the orange flesh sweetpotato flour be used by mothers as an entry point for enhancing the traditional weaning food preparations.Key words: β-carotene, sweetpotato flour, weaning food

Improving caregivers’ infant and young child-feeding practices using a three-group food guide: A randomized intervention study in central Uganda

Despite improvements in food production and healthcare services, the burden of malnutrition in Uganda has for the last 30 years remained unacceptably high with rates of stunting (chronic undernutrition) and anemia (proxy for micronutrient deficiency) currently estimated at 29% and 53%, respectively among young children aged 6-59 months. Considering that both undernutrition and over nutrition are greatly attributed to monotonous diets characterized by limited dietary diversity and overdependence on starchy refined grains or roots as staples, there is need to improve the population’s awareness of appropriate dietary practices. To improve nutrition education, the Infant and Young Child-feeding national counseling cards for community volunteers (IYCF cards) that were developed by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), are currently the standard package used in Uganda’s health sector to educate caregivers on appropriate child-feeding practices. In this study, the effectiveness of a three-group food guide was evaluated against IYCF cards. A randomized, controlled intervention trial engaged three randomly selected distant groups of child-caregiver pairs (n=40) concurrently in one of three treatments namely: (i) nutrition education using a threefood group guide (FG), (ii) nutrition education using age-appropriate IYCF cards, and (iii) negative control group that engaged in hair-plaiting sessions. At baseline, all groups had randomly selected caregivers of children aged 6-14 months and were met once a week for five consecutive weeks during the intervention. Caregivers were interviewed at baseline and 2 months after the interventions to determine changes in child-feeding practices while their children were concurrently measured to determine changes in their nutritional status. At baseline, caregivers in the three treatment arms exhibited inappropriate child-feeding practices indicated by low child-feeding index (CFI) scores, which were also related to poor nutritional status of their children. After the interventions, children in FG group were given more varied animal-source foods than those in IYCF cards group (p = 0.02). Compared to controls, caregivers in FG group gave their children significantly more snacks (p = 0.01), their child-feeding practices indicated by CFI scores significantly improved (p = 0.001) and their children exhibited better growth patterns indicated by weight-for-age (p = 0.02) and MUAC-forage (p = 0.03) Z-scores. These findings, therefore, indicate that the three-group food guide is more likely to improve child-feeding practices and growth patterns than IYCF cards. Hence, there is need to integrate the food guide into IYCF materials to foster child-feeding practices and growth.&nbsp