Dietary diversity and nutritional status of street food consumers in Oyo, South Western Nigeria

Street food is an affordable and acceptable source of dietary intake remarkable for its high consumption in developing countries. The aim of this study was to assess the dietary diversity and nutritional status of street food consumers in Oyo, a Nigerian urban town. The study was cross-sectional in design. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to elicit information on the socio-economic characteristics, consumption of street food and a single 24hr dietary recall from 385 street food consumers in Oyo town of Oyo State. The nutritional status of the respondents was assessed with the use of anthropometric indices-weight (kg) and height (m) to estimate the Body Mass Index (BMI) which was classified as Underweight (<18.5kg/m2), Normal (18.5-24.9 kg/m2), Overweight (25.0- 29.9 kg/m2) and Obese (≥30.0kg/m2. Dietary Diversity was based on the number of food groups consumed in the previous 24hours and a Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) ranging from 0 to 9 was constructed from a 9-food group model. The mean age of the respondents was 38.8±12years, majority (87%) were male and 59.7% were self-employed. About 40% spent half of their income on food while 10% spent more than three-quarters on food. More than 60% consumed street food daily, 82.1% indicated street meal as the most preferred street food whilst snacks and beverages were preferred by only 13%. Majority (74.0%) consumed street foods in the afternoon and about 20% in the morning. Four out of 10 respondents had low DDS, about half had medium DDS and 10% had high DDS. The nutritional status indicated 25.2% to be overweight while 3.1% and 6.2% were found to be underweight and obese, respectively. A significant association was found between the dietary diversity and nutritional status of the respondents. This study revealed that street food consumers in the ancient town of Oyo, Nigeria were either overweight or obese and their dietary diversity was low.Keywords: Street food, Consumers, Dietary Diversity, Nutritional status, South Western, Nigeri

Oral hygiene, dental caries and nutritional Status of in-school adolescents in Ibadan

Background: Dental caries has become a disease of public health  significance with dietary and hygiene practices being identified has major contributors. The extent of this burden is poorly explored among the adolescents in Nigeria. This study examines the association between oral hygiene, dental caries and nutritional status of in-school adolescents in Ibadan.Methodology: This cross-sectional study involved 663 in-school  adolescents from two randomly selected public secondary schools in  Ibadan metropolis. Data collected include demographic data,  anthropometric indices (weight and height), oral hygiene status and dental caries. An intra-oral examination was conducted to assess oral hygiene and dental caries, while BMI-for-age was computed using WHO Anthroplus. Descriptive and inferential statistics was performed to determine the association between oral hygiene, dental caries and nutritional status.Results: The mean age of the adolescents was 14.6±1.6years. The prevalence of oral hygiene and dental caries were 21.3% and 14.7% respectively. Sugary drinks and chocolate beverages were commonly consumed by 59.7% and 71.3% of the respondents respectively. Majority (78.0%) had normal nutritional status while 21.0% of the respondents were underweight and about 1% were either overweight or obese. No significant association was found between oral hygiene practice and nutritional status and also between dental caries and nutritional status.Conclusion: This study has revealed poor oral hygiene and relatively high prevalence of dental caries among the adolescents. There is the need for nutrition, oral and health education programs in secondary schools targeting the improvement of oral hygiene ultimately prevention of dental caries.Key words: Oral hygiene, Dental caries, Nutritional status, Adolescent

Dietary intake and weight gain of pregnant women attending ante-natal clinic at Adeoyo Maternity Hospital Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

Background: Birth-weight remains an indicator for survivalof infants and a summary of maternal nutrition during pregnancy. Low birth-weight is prevalent in developing countries and contributes to infant mortality. Weight gain during pregnancy is a good predictor of birth-weight and window of opportunity to reduce LBW rates. Average weight gain and nutrient intake adequacy during pregnancy in Nigeria is not published.Objectives: This study was designed to assess the nutrient intake and weight gain of pregnant women in Ibadan, Nigeria.Methods: Two hundred pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at a maternity hospital were recruited, dietary intake was assessed usingan interactive 24-hour dietary recall technique. The hospital records of 381 mothers who received ante-natal care at the hospital during their pregnancy were retrieved to obtained information on socio-demographic characteristics, gestational weight gain and birth weight of their new-born.Results: The mean age of the pregnant women was 29±1.2years; about 40% each had tertiary and secondary school education. About 54% were artisans, 24% were civil servants and 10% were house-wives. Birth-weight from this study was 3.05±0.55kg with 7.8% of the babies born LBW.Inadequate intakes of energy, protein, carbohydrate, calcium, and iron arehereby reported. About 50% of the mothers gained 11-15kg, 22% gained 6-10kg. Mean weight gain in this study was12.36±4.2 kg.Conclusion: There was a positive relationship between pregnancy weight gain and birth-weight, therefore, dietary intake, nutrient adequacy and weight gain in pregnancy should be given due attention among pregnant women in order to improve birth-weight and reduce low birth weight rates.Keywords: Pregnant women, Nutrient intake, weight gai

Breastfeeding knowledge and practice of mothers with infants less than six months old, in Kosofe Local Government of Lagos State

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding is the ideal for infants in the first six months, however the practice is low. The role of mothers' knowledge of breastfeeding on practise is not clear.This study was designed to assess knowledge and practice of nursing mothers concerning breastfeeding in the selected Local Government Area of Lagos State.Methods: Three hundred and twenty one mothers with infants under 6 months of age were recruited from the Immunization clinics of two government hospitals in Kosofe Local Government Area (LGA). Semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on the socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge of breastfeeding as well as practice.Results: About half (56%) of the mothers were Yoruba and 68.2% were Christians. Mean age of the respondents was 29.6± 3.5 years, 56% had tertiary education and 20% had secondary education and primary education respectively. About 69% had adequate breastfeeding knowledge, while 94.4% were aware of exclusive breastfeeding. About83%stated breast milk as the best foodfor their infants. Although 96.3% were currently breastfeeding, 38.3% gave infant formula to their children in the previous 24 hours.Exclusive breastfeeding was practiced only by 8.4% of the mothers, and 62.6% had introduced water. Only 18.7% had good breastfeeding practices.The relationship between knowledge and practice was not statistically significant, but between knowledge and practice of exclusive breastfeeding (p<0.05).Conclusion: High awareness of EBF and adequate knowledge of breastfeeding did not translate into practice. Other determinants of practice of EBF must be identified by further research.Keywords: Breastfeeding, Knowledge, Practic

Employers perception on skills and competencies of nutrition and dietetics graduates from Nigerian universities

Background: Education is a major channel to prepare students to acquire skills and competencies to increase their employability. Objective: This study was designed to seek employers perception of skills and competencies of nutrition and dietetics graduates from Nigerian universities. Method: A mixed-method approach was used to engage 65 employers of Nutrition and Dietetics graduates in this cross-sectional study. Data on the category of respondent's organizations, technical and soft skills needed by nutrition graduates, desired skills and competencies of the employers of nutrition graduates, deficit skills and competencies of Nutrition/Dietetics trainees and recommendations on addressing the short comings were elicited from the respondents. Result: About half of the respondents had over 10 years of working experience in Nutrition, 41.3% were Heads of Nutrition Department,37% were Nutrition Programme Officer/Advisor, and 21.7% were Project Manager/Director. About 60% indicated that graduates of Nutrition and Dietetics are not well trained and require further training prior to employment to address their knowledge and skill deficits. Respondents' ratings on the technical skills of the recently employed Nutrition and Dietetics graduates revealed that 38.6% were totally dissatisfied, 36.4% were not too satisfied and only 9.1% were very satisfied. Respondents' ratings on the soft skills showed that 43.2% were totally dissatisfied, 31.8% were not too satisfied and 9.1% were very satisfied. Conclusion: This study shows a deficit in the skills and competencies of the Nutrition and Dietetics graduates in Nigeria and urgent steps should be taken to address these gaps to increase employability