Food Insecurity and Not Dietary Diversity Is a Predictor of Nutrition Status in Children within Semiarid Agro-Ecological Zones in Eastern Kenya.

Zipporah N Bukania,Timothy Johns,Lydia U Kaduka,Richard Mutisya,Yeri Kombe,Robert M Karanja,Moses Mwangi

doi:10.1155/2014/907153

Zipporah N Bukania, Timothy Johns + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/907153

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Abstract

Machakos and Makueni counties in Kenya are associated with historical land degradation, climate change, and food insecurity. Both counties lie in lower midland (LM) lower humidity to semiarid (LM4), and semiarid (LM5) agroecological zones (AEZ). We assessed food security, dietary diversity, and nutritional status of children and women. Materials and Methods. A total of 277 woman-child pairs aged 15–46 years and 6–36 months respectively, were recruited from farmer households. Food security and dietary diversity were assessed using standard tools. Weight and height, or length in children, were used for computation of nutritional status. Findings. No significant difference (P > 0.05) was observed in food security and dietary diversity score (DDS) between LM4 and LM5. Stunting, wasting, and underweight levels among children in LM4 and LM5 were comparable as were BMI scores among women. However, significant associations (P = 0.023) were found between severe food insecurity and nutritional status of children but not of their caregivers. Stunting was significantly higher in older children (>2 years) and among children whose caregivers were older. Conclusion. Differences in AEZ may not affect dietary diversity and nutritional status of farmer households. Consequently use of DDS may lead to underestimation of food insecurity in semiarid settings.

Highlights

Demonstration of the potential of food-based approaches that draw on local agriculture resources to improve food and nutrition security of small-holder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa is challenged by the lack of valid assessment tools able to recognize meaningful nutritional changes within short time frames [1,2,3]
A total of 277 households were interviewed constituting woman-child pairs from LM4 and woman-child pairs from lower midland (LM) 5 agroecological zones (AEZ)
Less than 20% of the respondents reported having attained education above secondary levels but 81.2% had completed primary school. 87.3% of the women of reproductive age (WRA) were married with household sizes averaging 7.0 members

Summary

Introduction

Demonstration of the potential of food-based approaches that draw on local agriculture resources to improve food and nutrition security of small-holder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa is challenged by the lack of valid assessment tools able to recognize meaningful nutritional changes within short time frames [1,2,3]. Dietary diversity as a practical indicator of nutrient adequacy may be the most satisfactory proxy for nutritional quality both in comparing differences in available food resources and in response to dietary change [3, 5] but requires evaluation in relation to agricultural interventions. Individual dietary diversity score (IDDS) is useful as a proxy measure of the nutritional quality of an individual’s diet [6] and as a reflection of nutrient adequacy [5, 7, 8]. Food choices, and dietary diversity are key determinants of nutritional status, especially in areas of high food insecurity such as the arid and semiarid lands (ASAL) of Eastern Kenya. Food and nutrition insecurity of public health importance affects the urban and rural poor in both developed and developing countries [9] while undernutrition contributes to increased mortality and morbidity

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Conclusion