Evaluation of the suitability and acceptability of a newly designed infant flour for infant feeding in the district of Bopa in south of Benin

Infant feeding practices do not always fit with quantity and quality requirements, leading to low expression of growth potential. In Benin, 43.1% of children less than6 months old are exclusively breastfed with 68% of children aged 6-8 months receiving complementary food. The study aimed to produce infant flour from raw food ingredients available in Bopa district and to test its acceptability by 6-12 months oldchildren. In a first step of the study, formulation and determination of nutritional characteristics of the infant flour occurred. A second step concerned acceptability tests of gruel made from formulated infant flour. The study sample was composed of sixty five mothers and their children. Children�s acceptability test took place in the morning for three consecutive days. The gruel was consumed ad libitum. Mothers�acceptability test consisted of appreciation of organoleptic characteristics of the gruel and the infant flour processing.The infant flour was made of maize (65 %), bean (20 %) and peanut (15 %) and was manually processed. Chemical analysesshowed that it contains 4.3% of moisture, 69.3% of carbohydrates, 15.1% of proteins, 10.7% of lipids, less than 5% of crude fibres and 1.9% of ash. Its energy density (433.9kcal/100g) was significantly greater than Codex Alimentarius standards (p<0.05).The infant flour contained microbial germs up to 4.8log CFU/g which was closed to maximum standard values. Total coliforms (1.7log CFU/g) were significantly lower than standard values. The flour was yeast, mould and pathogen (Escherichia coli) free. Hundred grams gruel was made from 40g of infant flour, 6g of malted maize and 250ml of stock of boiled greens leaves (Solanummacrocarpum). Dry matter content of gruel was 19.2% and its energy density was 81.5 kcal/100g. Basedon the ratio of intake and amount served, 83.3% of children accepted the gruel. However based on the ratio of the amount of porridge consumed during the testto the amount usually consumed by the children, 65.2% of the childrenaccepted the gruel. Mothers�appreciation of the gruel ranged from unpleasant to very pleasant with 40% as pleasant. Sixty percent of mothers judged the infant flour processing as easy and feasible. All mothers expressed their desire to feed their children with the gruel. Improving nutritional status of their children motivated their decision. It is concluded that integrating this infant flour in nutrition and counselling package targeted to mothers may be of a great benefit to the children.&nbsp

Contribution du manioc à l’alimentation et à la nutrition des enfants dans la commune de Djidja au Bénin

La présente étude vise à évaluer la contribution des aliments à base de manioc à l’alimentation et à la nutrition des enfants de 6 à 35 mois de la commune de Djidja. En outre, les facteurs socioéconomiques et culturels qui influencent la consommation desdits produits ont été identifiés. L’étude s’est déroulée en deux phases. La première phase a consisté en une enquête de consommation alimentaire et nutritionnelle au cours de laquelle les données de consommation alimentaire et nutritionnelle ont été collectées sur un échantillon de 106 enfants réparti en trois tranches d’âge. Dans la deuxième phase, les données socioéconomiques et culturelles ont été collectées à travers des focus group auprès de 400 acteurs  (producteurs, transformatrices et mères d’enfants). La prévalence des différents types de malnutrition obtenue se présente comme suit:  émaciation : 8,6% ; retard de croissance : 32,7% et insuffisance  pondérale  : 17,1%. Il en découle que la situation nutritionnelle des enfants de 6 à 35 mois pose un sérieux problème de santé publique dans la commune de Djidja. Le dérivé du manioc le plus consommé par les enfants de 6 à 35 mois est le gari. Sa contribution aux taux de couverture des besoins en nutriments par les aliments de complément et  l’alimentation des enfants de 6 à 35 mois est relativement faible. Elle varie de 4 à 22% pour l’énergie, 2 à 14% pour les protéines, 1 à 9% pour le fer et 1 à 5% pour le zinc dans les trois tranches d’âge. Par ailleurs, les facteurs socioéconomiques et culturels qui influencent la consommation des dérivés du manioc par les enfants sont le revenu des ménages, la commodité (la disponibilité locale et l’accessibilité permanente du gari, font qu’il est plus facile aux mères de le donner aux enfants pour calmer leur faim), la disponibilité et l’accessibilité permanente des dérivés de manioc et la facilité de préparation.Mots clés : Manioc, malnutrition, gari, enfants, facteurs socioéconomiques

Caracterisation Du Regime Alimentaire Des Personnes Agees Au Sud-Benin

Le but de la présente étude est d’identifier les facteurs de risque d’origine alimentaire de l’état nutritionnel des personnes âgées en milieu urbain au sud du Bénin. L’étude s’est déroulée dans la ville de Cotonou au cours de la période transitionnelle entre la soudure et l’abondance alimentaire (octobre-novembre), avec 225 hommes et femmes ayant au moins 60 ans, apparemment en bonne santé mentale, sélectionnés au hasard par la méthode d’échantillonnage en grappes à 3 étapes. La consommation alimentaire a été mesurée par le rappel des 24 heures. Le régime alimentaire a été caractérisé en utilisant les scores de diversité diététique et de variété alimentaire, en association avec le concept de diversification alimentaire. Les résultats révèlent que le régime alimentaire des  personnes âgées en milieu urbain est basé sur les groupes des céréales, poissons, légumineuses, sucres, racines et tubercules, huiles et graisses, laits et produits laitiers, viandes et volailles, légumes (feuilles ou fruits), fruits. Les personnes âgées sujettes à la réduction de leurs fonctions sensorielles tendent à diversifier leur régime. Ceci serait une stratégie adoptée par les personnes âgées pour maintenir un bon état nutritionnel en dépit de la réduction de leurs fonctions sensorielles.Mots clés : Personnes âgées, régime alimentaire, Sud-Bénin, diversité diététique.The study aimed to identify the diet-related risk factors of the nutritional status of the elderly people living in urban area in southern Benin. The study was performed in Cotonou (urban area) during the transitional period between food shortage and abundance (octobernovember), among 225 apparently healthy 60 year-old men and women, randomly selected by a three-stage cluster sampling method. Food intake was measured using a 24 hour recall method. The diet was described using the food variety score and the dietary diversity score, in association with the concept of diversification. The results showed that the diet of the elderly people is based on cereals, fishes and fisheries, nuts and legumes, sugar, roots and tubers, vegetables (leafy or fruits) and fruits. Also, the elderly people with reduced sensorial functionality tended to diversify their diet, as a strategy to keep a good nutritional status.Keywords : elderly people, food diet, Southern Benin, dietary diversity.Article in Frenc

Evaluation Of The Suitability And Acceptability Of A Newly Designed Infant Flour For Infant Feeding In The District Of Bopa In South Of Benin

Infant feeding practices do not always fit with quantity and quality requirements, leading to low expression of growth potential. In Benin, 43.1% of children less than 6 months old are exclusively breastfed with 68% of children aged 6-8 months receiving complementary food. The study aimed to produce infant flour from raw food ingredients available in Bopa district and to test its acceptability by 6-12 months old children. In a first step of the study, formulation and determination of nutritional characteristics of the infant flour occurred. A second step concerned acceptability tests of gruel made from formulated infant flour. The study sample was composed of sixty five mothers and their children. Children&apos;s acceptability test took place in the morning for three consecutive days. The gruel was consumed ad libitum. Mothers&apos; acceptability test consisted of appreciation of organoleptic characteristics of the gruel and the infant flour processing.The infant flour was made of maize (65 %), bean (20 %) and peanut (15 %) and was manually processed. Chemical analyses showed that it contains 4.3% of moisture, 69.3% of carbohydrates, 15.1% of proteins, 10.7% of lipids, less than 5% of crude fibres and 1.9% of ash. Its energy density (433.9 kcal/100g) was significantly greater than Codex Alimentarius standards (p<0.05).The infant flour contained microbial germs up to 4.8log CFU/gwhich was closed to maximum standard. Total coliforms (1.7log CFU/g) were significantly lower than standard values. The flour was yeast, mould and pathogen ( Escherichia coli ) free. Hundred grams gruel was made from 40g of infant flour, 6g of malted maize and 250ml of stock of boiled greens leaves (Solanummacrocarpum). Dry matter content of gruel was 19.2% and its energy density was 81.5 kcal/100g. Based on the ratio of intake and amount served, 83.3% of children accepted the gruel. However based on the ratio of the amount of porridge consumed during the test to the amount usually consumed by the children, 65.2% of the children accepted the gruel. Mothers&apos; appreciation of the gruel ranged from unpleasant to very pleasant with 40% as pleasant. Sixty percent of mothers judged the infant flour processing as easy and feasible. All mothers expressed their desire to feed their children with the gruel. Improving nutritional status of their children motivated their decision. It is concluded that integrating this infant flour in nutrition and counselling package targeted to mothers may be of a great benefit to the children

Consumption of, and beliefs about fonio (digitaria exilis) in urban area in mali

The study sought to determine beliefs and practices about neglected crops in West Africa, using fonio (Digitaria exilis) as a model to understand how obstacles impede the consumption of this cereal in Bamako, the capital city of Mali. This was a crosssectional study on food ethnography in three steps: a market survey on availability of fonio, a food consumption survey on utilisation of fonio, and on beliefs on and attributes of fonio. The study covered the pre-harvest and post-harvest periods and involved key  informants, food vendors, and women of reproductive age in households. Fonio, as all cereals, is available year-long on markets in Bamako, and is abundant from September to May before most of the common cereals mature. More than two-thirds (68%) of the women reported having consumed fonio one to three times a month. Fonio was more consumed as snack (djouka) on working days (62%) than on weekend and special event days, suggesting that encouraging the development of ready-to-serve fonio-based products would help increase the consumption of fonio among women in urban area. The average individual portion size of fonio was 152g/day, and the contribution to daily energy intake was 16%. A large share of the women was convinced that eating fonio was good for them (95%) and their family members (94%). Also, most of them thought that fonio had good cooking, organoleptic and nutritional qualities and could contribute to diet’s variation (91% to 100%). Decision by the women to purchase or prepare fonio in the household could be favourably influenced by factors such as media, household members suffering from anaemia, neighbouring people buying fonio and shortage of other cereals; whereas shortage of fonio products (77%), high cost of fonio products (69%), difficult cooking process (51%), and lack of knowledge about processing and cooking fonio (43%) were likely to limit fonio consumption among the women. Also, in the present study, fonio was perceived to be for rich people by more than half (58%) of the women. Improving cooking process and knowledge of the women about fonio cooking, as well as creating a demand for the women with the household’s head and others through media, social and health care services would help increase fonio consumption in Bamako.Key words: beliefs, fonio, women, Mali, ethnograph

Growth Performance And Iron Status Of Rural Beninese School-Age Children In Post- And Pre-Harvest Season

Malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies are major public health problems in developing countries. Most affected groups are children, adolescents, women of reproductive age and pregnant women. School-age children also represent an important vulnerable age category because they are still in the middle of their growth process which implies that their diets should supply appropriate macro- and micronutrients for an adequate growth and development. A better nutrition in schoolage children is associated with increased school performances and a better school achievement. School-age children are dependent on their parents for access to adequate foods and nutrition but, in areas characterised by a unimodal climate with only one rainy season and one dry season, seasonal variation in food availability may also influence their nutritional status. The present study was undertaken to analyse the growth performance and iron status of school-age children in rural Benin, not only in relation to season but also to school attendance. The study was carried out in three villages in the Atacora province in northern Benin. Eighty children aged 6 to 8 years were randomly selected. Anthropometric parameters, haemoglobin level, serum ferritin and C-reactive protein were measured in the same children in the post-harvest season and the next pre-harvest season. Complete anthropometric data sets were available for 74 children while for blood analysis 69 children completed the study. In the post-harvest season, mean Z-scores for height-for-age and for weight-for-height were -1.72 ± 0.89 and -0.89 ± 0.62, respectively. The Z-score for height-for-age of children attending school (-1.55 ± 0.87) was significantly different from that of children not attending school (-2.14 ± 0.80) (P<0.05). In the post-harvest season, haemoglobin level was 119 ± 13 g/l and median serum ferritin level was 36μg/l. The haemoglobin level of children attending school (121 ± 13 g/l) was significantly different from that of children not attending school (114 ± 12 g/l) (P<0.05). The school-age children have poor growth performance and poor iron status that did not differ between seasons. The reasons behind the difference in nutritional status in relation to school attendance need further investigation