Adoption of Enriched Local Complementary Food in Osun State: Combating Micronutrient Deficiency in the First Two Years of Life

Locally processed complementary foods, appropriately enriched can complement breast milk and traditional foods during the nutritionally vulnerable periods of a child life. The study therefore examines the adoption of enriched local complementary foods in Osun State Nigeria. Structured interview schedule was used to collect information from 384 women about new home made complementary foods introduced to them during ante and post natal clinic. Awareness, adoption and discontinuity of the foods were also determined. Results revealed that majority of the women (44.3%) were between 30-39years of age and have attended secondary school (45%). Of the foods introduced in the urban center mothers were aware of “eko ilera” (12.8%), groundnut milk (11.1%), soya milk (23.5%), mashed potato and milk (11.1%), pap and banana (12.8%), cowpea milk (7.6%) and tom brown (6.4%). Their rural counterparts were only aware of food such as “eko ilera”, soya milk and pap and banana with low percentage which are 1.3%, 6% and 2% respectively. The adoption for “eko ilera” was (86.7%), pap and banana (93.3%), cowpea milk 88.8% and tom brown (86.6%) for the urban women, while their rural counterparts recorded 100% for eko ilera, 55.5% for soya milk and 66.6% for pap and banana. It is concluded that for sustainability, interventions must be continued for longer periods of time to reach late adopters and it is recommended that improved child feeding practices will be promoted at the community level.Key words: complementary foods, micronutrient, adoptio

Knowledge, attitude and intending practice of female undergraduates about breastfeeding

The recommendation by the World Health Organization (WHO) is that infants should be fed exclusively on breast milk for the first 6 months, but the rate of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) has been on the decline in Nigeria. The study determines knowledge, attitude and intending practice of unmarried female undergraduates about breastfeeding (BF). Two  hundred females were selected using the simple random sampling  procedure. Interview schedule was used to obtain information on socio-economic characteristics, knowledge, attitude and intending practices of EBF of Obafemi Awolowo University Ile Ife, Nigeria. Knowledge and attitudes on BF were determined using a three and five point Likert Scale, respectively. Data was described using percentages, frequency counts and regression. Sixty percent of the respondents were between the ages of 21 and 24years and more than half are four hundred level students (54.5%). Knowledge on the term EBF is misconstrued as BF for 12 months by 33% of the respondents. Women intend to initiate BF between the first 0-6 hour of birth (65%) and breast feed on request (62.5%). However, 61% may not practice EBF because of their jobs, will introduce infant formula or water during the first six months and 38.3% will not breast feed in public. Women intend to terminate BF at 3 months (5.0%), 6 months (16.5%), 1 year (50.5%) and 2 years (28.0%) because of their health status (54.0%). Knowledge about BF was average (94%) and attitude was neutral (77.4%).Women intend to manage EBF during working hours by having fixed feeding schedules (14.0%) and using expressed breast milk (16.0%). About 34.5% of respondents will not use expressed breast milk because of fear of contamination (42.0%) and their health (36.3%), 6.0% expressed the opinion that EBF is not possible. Major influence on BF decisions includes maternal health (59.7%), maternal jobs (54.4%), husbands (34.5%), mother (24.8%), and mothers in law (17.5%). Regression analysis revealed that knowledge (b=-0.025) has a negative significant relationship with duration of EBF of mothers at p <0.05. It is concluded that women lacked understanding of the BF recommendations, duration of EBF, have average knowledge and neutral attitude towards EBF. It is recommended that child health matters should be taught not only in the medical schools, but special courses should be offered to increase knowledge on appropriate recommendations on BF practices for all students.Key words: undergraduate, attitude, knowledge, practice, breastfeedin

Nutritional Quality Of The Lunches Of Children In Day Care In Osun State Of Nigeria

Food patterns and dietary quality in the early years of life are usually determined by parents and other primary caretakers. Unfortunately the diets commonly offered to young children are of low quality and often lack variety, which is the key to specific nutrient adequacy. They are usually of low energy and nutrient density and as a result, multiple nutrient deficiencies are common in this age group. This study investigated the nutritional quality of the lunches of children in day care in Osun State of Nigeria. A structured interview schedule was used to collect data from 180 mothers randomly selected from the study area. Mothers were interviewed about their children's eating habits, lunches and snacks packed for school. Descriptive statistics, such as percentages and frequency, were used to describe data. The results of the study revealed that 76% of the children ate breakfast before going to school. Almost all (91%) mothers gave their children lunch packs for school. The majority (72%) of the children went to school with additional mid-morning snacks, such as biscuits and pastries, and 12% took fruits. Few children (16%) did not take snacks to school. The socio-economic status of mothers was also considered and its effect on type of meal packed was examined. Results showed that 44.4% of the meals packed by mothers included carbohydrate-rich foods; 33.3% were partially balanced diets; and 22.3% packed a balanced meal for the children. Lower class mothers (15%) gave carbohydrate-rich food, while those of the middle class (21%) gave partially balanced diets. The percentage of mothers that packed balanced meals was not significantly different for the three socio-economic groups. It is recommended that mothers should have access to nutrition information about recommended dietary practices for children and should be educated on how to use the four food plan group in planning meals for children through nutrition education programmes

Nutrient Adequacy of Complementary Foods Fed to Infants 6-24 Months in Urban and Rural Communities in Osun State, Nigeria

Objective: To determine the nutrient adequacy of complementary foods fed to children in Osun State, Nigeria. Method: A cross sectional study was carried out to investigate the nutrient content of complementary foods in Osun State. Stratified random sampling procedure was used to select 299 mothers with children between the ages of 6-24 months in urban and rural communities. Information on complementary feeding practices of mothers was obtained using structured interview schedule and food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, means and student t- test. Results: Results from twenty-four (24h) recall revealed that children between the ages of 0-6 months were fed complementary foods at least once. Specifically, in the urban communities 9.5% were fed once, 23.8% twice, 30.3% three times, and 25.6% four times a day. In the rural communities, 3.9% were fed once, 20.6% of the children were fed two times, 29.8% three times, and 28.5% four times a day. Twenty-four (24h) recall of snack consumption revealed that 13.5% and 14.3% of the children do not consume snacks at all, while 7.2% and 10.3% consumed snacks four times in the urban and rural communities, respectively. Mean nutrient consumption of the urban communities was 733.7kcal energy; 9.8g protein; 4.3mg Fe; 99.5mg Ca, and 121.7μg vitamin A. In the rural communities, the figures were 698.7kcal for energy, 7.1g protein, 2.7mg Fe, 68.4mg Ca and 188.3 μg vitamin A which were inadequate to meet their recommended nutrient intakes (RNI). Conclusion: Nutrients in complementary foods were inadequate especially in Fe, Ca, and Zn. It is recommended that mothers should be informed about the nutrient content in foods and the right quantities needed by their children for normal growth and development. Keywords: Nutrient adequacy, complementary foods, snacks consumption, infants, rural/urban communitie

Snacking as a Contributor to Overweight among Nigerian Undergraduate Students.

Objective: This study investigated the role of snacking as a contributor to overweight among undergraduate students. Subjects and Methods: Four hundred and eighty ndergraduates of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria were investigated using simple random cluster method from four popular snack outlets. Structured questionnaires were administered to elicit information on snacking habit. Anthropometric measurements of weight and height were obtained. Overweight was assessed and defined as Body Mass Index =25. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS software. Frequency counts, percentages, correlation and regression analyses were determined. Results: There were 178(37.2%) male and (302)62.8% female. Mean age of the undergraduate students was 22.7±3.16; highest among 20-25 years age range (