Maternal Nutritional Status and Dietary Diversity in Ghana

Abstract

BackgroundEating from a limited number of food groups which are mainly micronutrient poor starchy staples contributes to the burden of malnutrition and increases the risk for obesity and its related non‐communicable diseases. This study assessed dietary patterns and diversity among women in rural and semi‐rural areas in Ghana due to the paucity of data for those areas outside the cities.MethodsA cross‐sectional survey was undertaken among 1185 households in Eastern, Volta and Brong Ahafo regions of Ghana. Households with children under age 5 years were sampled. Women were surveyed at the household level using a pretested semi‐structured questionnaire. Dietary intake patterns and dietary diversity of the women were assessed using a 24‐hour recall. Pearson's chi‐square was used to determine associations between region and dietary patterns and diversity.ResultsAmong the 1185 women recruited, 21.3%, 24.5% and 54.3% were from Brong Ahafo, Eastern and Volta regions, respectively. The mean ± SD age of the women was 38.4 ± 15.1 years. Drinks frequently consumed by the women were tealeaf and cocoa drink and this varied across the regions. The women consumed high amounts of assorted fats and oils but nutritional supplement use was reported by only 7.3% of the women. About More than 70% of the women in Volta region and 96% of the women in Brong Ahafo regions had ever used iodated salt but 60% of the women from Eastern region had never used iodated salt. The women (71.5%) consumed foods from roots and tubers, 82.4% consumed fish and sea foods and 85.7% consumed cereals and these consumption patterns varied from region to region. Whereas 98.1% of the caregivers consumed some sort of vegetables, only 13.4% consumed fruits of any kind. Milk and milk products and eggs were the least frequently consumed food groups. Majority (61.4%) of the women ate from at least 5–8 food groups (medium dietary diversity) whilst 37.9% ate from at least 1–4 food groups (low dietary diversity). There were significant differences in dietary diversity across the three regions (p<0.0001). BMI was within normal range for 54.2% of the women but 23.5% and 14.7% of the women were overweight and obese respectively. There was no association between BMI and dietary diversity (p=0.18).ConclusionPoor dietary diversity and intake of energy dense diets saturated with fats and oils is high in rural Ghanaian women. Future studies should evaluate the relationship between these dietary patterns and health and nutritional outcomes.Support or Funding InformationThis Research was supported in part by a grant from the Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H.Chan School of Public Health, as well as the Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H.Chan School of Public Health.