scholarly journals The relationship between maternal food insecurity, fetal and postnatal growth: findings from the South African National Income Dynamics Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail Joan Harper ◽  
Alan Rothberg ◽  
Esnat Chirwa ◽  
Winnie Sambu ◽  
Sumaya Mall
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
South African ◽  
Low Birthweight ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
National Income ◽  
Composite Measure ◽  
Severe Stunting ◽  
Child Health Outcomes ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Height For Age

Abstract Background: Food insecurity during pregnancy and postnatally has been associated with adverse child health outcomes including low birthweight and stunting. There are few studies that have examined the relationships between food insecurity and child health outcomes in low and middle income countries. This study aims to fill the gap by examining the relationship between food insecurity, low birthweight and stunting in children using a longitudinal sample of South African women and their offspring.Methods: The primary exposure is a multidimensional, composite measure of household food insecurity that comprises three dimensions and six indicators. The primary outcome is a dichotomous measure of child LBW (≤2500g) The secondary outcome is childhood stunting (height for age £2SD of the median) and severe stunting (height for age £3SD of the median) in the first five years of life. We used both unadjusted and adjusted regression models. Source data for the analysis came from the population-based, longitudinal data collected for wave one and three of the National Income Dynamics Study (2008 and 2012). Results: Birthweight data were available for 1381 children and stunting data were available for 1444 children. The prevalence of LBW in the sample was 13.64 %. The prevalence of stunting and severe stunting was 16.46 % and 11.87 %. The composite measure was not associated with low birthweight but was associated with underweight maternal BMI, a risk factor for low birthweight. Household dietary diversity, food expenditure below the Stats SA poverty line and the composite measure was associated with stunting and severe stunting in bivariate analyses. The measure was associated with severe stunting in the final model.Conclusions: The finding that household food insecurity is associated with severe stunting for children in the first five years of life highlights the importance of adequate food and nutrition for vulnerable children in South Africa. Future studies can elucidate the relationship between maternal food insecurity, low birthweight and other child outcomes. Policy interventions that focus on early childhood growth through alleviating food insecurity and addressing other drivers of malnutrition such as improving maternal education and dietary diversity can break the cycle of poor growth outcomes.

scholarly journals The relationship between antenatal food insecurity, fetal and postnatal growth: findings from the South African National Income Dynamics Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail Joan Harper ◽  
Alan Rothberg ◽  
Esnat Chirwa ◽  
Winnie Sambu ◽  
Sumaya Mall
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
South African ◽  
Low Birthweight ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
National Income ◽  
Composite Measure ◽  
Severe Stunting ◽  
Child Health Outcomes ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Height For Age

Abstract Background Food insecurity during pregnancy has been associated with adverse child health outcomes including low birthweight and stunting. There are few studies that have examined the relationships between food insecurity and child health outcomes in low and middle income countries. This study aims to fill the gap by examining the relationship between food insecurity, low birthweight and stunting in children using a longitudinal sample of South African women and their children. Methods The primary exposure is a multidimensional, composite measure of household food insecurity that comprises three dimensions and six indicators. The primary outcome is a dichotomous measure of child LBW (≤ 2500 g) The secondary outcome is childhood stunting (height for age ≤2SD of the median) and severe stunting (height for age ≤3SD of the median) in the first five years of life. We used both unadjusted and adjusted regression models. Source data for the analysis came from the population-based, longitudinal data collected for wave one and three of the National Income Dynamics Study (2008 and 2012). Results Birthweight data were available for 1381 children and stunting data were available for 1444 children. The prevalence of LBW in the sample was 13.64%. The prevalence of stunting and severe stunting was 16.46% and 11.87%. The composite measure was not associated with low birthweight but was associated with underweight maternal BMI, a risk factor for low birthweight. Household dietary diversity, food expenditure below the Stats SA poverty line and the composite measure was associated with stunting and severe stunting in bivariate analyses. The measure was associated with severe stunting in the final model. Conclusions The finding that household food insecurity is associated with severe stunting for children in the first five years of life highlights the importance of adequate food and nutrition for vulnerable children in South Africa. Future studies can elucidate the relationship between antenatal food insecurity, low birthweight and other child outcomes. Policy interventions that focus on early childhood growth through alleviating food insecurity and addressing other drivers of malnutrition such as improving maternal education and dietary diversity can break the cycle of poor growth outcomes.

scholarly journals Prevalence of Stunting and Relationship between Stunting and Associated Risk Factors with Academic Achievement and Cognitive Function: A Cross-Sectional Study with South African Primary School Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 4218
Author(s):  
Johanna Beckmann ◽  
Christin Lang ◽  
Rosa du Randt ◽  
Annelie Gresse ◽  
Kurt Z. Long ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
South African ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Present Sample ◽  
Associated Risk Factors

Childhood stunting can have negative long-term consequences on cognitive development, academic achievement, and economic productivity later in life. We determined the prevalence of stunting and examined whether stunting and associated risk factors (low dietary diversity, insufficient hemoglobin, food insecurity, and soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections) are associated with academic achievement and cognitive function among South African children living in marginalized communities. A cross-sectional sample of 1277 children (aged 5–12 years) was analyzed. Stunting was defined according to 2007 WHO growth references. Cognitive functioning was measured with the computerized Flanker task and academic performance via school grades. Blood and stool samples were collected to obtain hemoglobin level and STH infection. Dietary diversity was assessed by a food frequency questionnaire. Associations were examined via mixed linear regression (with school class as a random intercept). Nine percent of the children were stunted (95% CI: 7.6–10.8%). Low dietary diversity (β = 0.13, p = 0.004), food insecurity (β = −0.12, p = 0.034), and stunting (β = −0.13, p = 0.031) were associated with poorer end of the year results among girls. No such associations were found among boys. No significant associations were found for socioeconomic status and hemoglobin levels. The prevalence of stunting and STH infections were low in the present sample. Risk factors seem differently associated with girls’ and boys’ academic achievement. Promoting nutrition may help to promote academic achievement among girls living in low- and middle-income countries.

scholarly journals Cross-Sectional Association of Food Source with Food Insecurity, Dietary Diversity and Body Mass Index in Western Kenya

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Olatunji ◽  
Charles Obonyo ◽  
Pamela Wadende ◽  
Vincent Were ◽  
Rosemary Musuva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Food Source ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Household Food Insecurity ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
Western Kenya ◽  
Household Food ◽  
The Relationship

The triple burden of malnutrition in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is partly a result of changing food environments and a shift from traditional diets to high-calorie Western-style diets. Exploring the relationship between food sources and food- and nutrition-related outcomes is important to understanding how changes in food environments may affect nutrition in LMICs. This study examined associations of household food source with household food insecurity, individual dietary diversity and individual body mass index in Western Kenya. Interview-administered questionnaire and anthropometric data from 493 adults living in 376 randomly-selected households were collected in 2019. Adjusted regression analyses were used to assess the association of food source with measures of food insecurity, dietary diversity and body mass index. Notably, participants that reported rearing domesticated animals for consumption (‘own livestock’) had lower odds of moderate or severe household food insecurity (odds ratio (OR) = 0.29 (95% CI: 0.09, 0.96)) and those that reported buying food from supermarkets had lower odds of moderate or severe household food insecurity (borderline significant, OR = 0.37 (95% CI: 0.14, 1.00)), increased dietary diversity scores (Poisson coefficient = 0.17 (95% CI: 0.10, 0.24)) and higher odds of achieving minimum dietary diversity (OR = 2.84 (95% CI: 1.79, 4.49)). Our findings provide insight into the relationship between food environments, dietary patterns and nutrition in Kenya, and suggest that interventions that influence household food source may impact the malnutrition burden in this context.

scholarly journals Agricultural production diversity and child nutrition in Ethiopia

Food Security ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryia Bakhtsiyarava ◽  
Kathryn Grace
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Child Nutrition ◽  
Farm Production ◽  
Child Height ◽  
Household Farm ◽  
Production Diversity ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Height For Age

AbstractThis study investigates how two aspects of agricultural production diversity – farm production diversity and composition of production – relate to child height-for-age and weight-for-height in Ethiopia. We use longitudinal data on child anthropometric measurements, household farm production diversity and farm production composition from the Ethiopia Socioeconomic Survey for 2011, 2013, and 2015 available through the World Bank. Using longitudinal fixed effects models, we show that an increase in farm production diversity reduces the risk of chronic food insecurity (child height-for-age) but has no impact on acute measures of food insecurity (child weight-for-height). Results also suggest that, in a context of poor rainfall, more diversity in farm production can adversely impact child height-for-age, although livestock sales might mitigate that detrimental effect. These findings highlight the importance of considering the relationship between farm-level food production and child nutrition in a context of climate change.

Co-creating the Psychological “White Picket Fence”: Three Gay Couples’ Relationship Reconfiguration

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prevan Moodley ◽  
Francois Rabie
Keyword(s):  
Grounded Theory ◽  
South African ◽  
Gay Couples ◽  
Core Category ◽  
Picket Fence ◽  
Open Relationship ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Porous Boundaries

Many gay couples engage in nonmonogamous relationships. Ideas about nonmonogamy have historically been theorised as individual pathology and indicating relational distress. Unlike mixed-sex couples, boundaries for gay couples are often not determined by sexual exclusivity. These relationships are built along a continuum of open and closed, and sexual exclusivity agreements are not restricted to binaries, thus requiring innovation and re-evaluation. Three white South African gay couples were each jointly interviewed about their open relationship, specifically about how this is negotiated. In contrast to research that uses the individual to investigate this topic, this study recruited dyads. The couples recalled the initial endorsement of heteronormative romantic constructions, after which they shifted to psychological restructuring. The dyad, domesticated through the stock image of a white picket fence, moved to a renewed arrangement, protected by “rules” and imperatives. Abbreviated grounded theory strategies led to a core category, “co-creating porous boundaries”, and two themes. First, the couple jointly made heteronormative ideals porous and, second, they reconfigured the relationship through dyadic protection. The overall relationship ideology associated with the white picket fence remained intact despite the micro-innovations through which the original heteronormative patterning was reconfigured.

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