An Assessment of the Food and Nutrition Security Status of Weaned 7-12 Months Old Children in Rural and Peri-Urban Communities of Gauteng and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa.

Sithandiwe Ntila,Unathi Kolanisi,Hafiz Abdelgadir,Muthulisi Siwela,Ashwell Ndhlala

doi:10.3390/ijerph14091004

Abstract

This study assessed the food and nutrition security status of children receiving complementary food in rural and peri-urban communities. A group of 106 mothers from Lebowakgomo village and Hammanskraal Township, respectively, participated in the survey. Additionally, six focus group discussions were conducted per study area to assess the mothers’ perceptions about children’s food access. The Children’s Food Insecurity Access Scale (CFIAS) was used to assess the food security status (access) of the children. The Individual Dietary Diversity Score (IDDS) together with the unquantified food consumption frequency survey were used as a proxy measure of the nutritional quality of the children’s diets. The age and weight of the children obtained from the children’s clinic health cards were used to calculate Weight-for-Age Z scores (WAZ) in order to determine the prevalence of underweight children. The findings showed that a large percentage of children were severely food-insecure, 87% and 78%, in rural and peri-urban areas, respectively. Additionally, Lebowakgomo children (23.6%) and Hammanskraal children (17.9%) were severely underweight. Overall, children’s diets in both study areas was characterized by nutrient-deficient complementary foods. Cheaper foods with a longer stomach-filling effect such as white maize meal and sugar were the most commonly purchased and used. Hence, the children consumed very limited amounts of foods rich in proteins, minerals, and vitamins, which significantly increased the risk of their being malnourished.

Highlights

Food and nutrition security exists when all people at all times have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food and they are able to adequately utilize and absorb the nutrients in the food in order to be able to live a healthy and active life [1]
Six focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted per study area, the participants of the focus group discussion were recruited on a voluntary basis from the survey participants; each group was comprised of 12 mothers
FGDs indicated that government child grants were the main source of income for mothers in both study areas, and agricultural activities were used as coping strategies during periods of financial stress

Summary

Introduction

Food and nutrition security exists when all people at all times have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food and they are able to adequately utilize and absorb the nutrients in the food in order to be able to live a healthy and active life [1]. The failure to achieve adequate nutrition is aggravated by basic, underlying and immediate factors, which contribute to the causes of child malnutrition [2]. The basic causes of malnutrition, viz., limited access to resources and environmental technology, cultural beliefs, religion and tradition, together with the underlying causes, viz., household food insecurity, inadequate maternal and child care, poor sanitation, inadequate health services, and a lack of information, all contribute to the immediate causes of malnutrition, which are associated with inadequate dietary intake and disease related factors. Public Health 2017, 14, 1004; doi:10.3390/ijerph14091004 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion