scholarly journals Food Sources and Dietary Quality in Small Island Developing States: Development of Methods and Policy Relevant Novel Survey Data from the Pacific and Caribbean

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3350
Author(s):  
Emily Haynes ◽  
Divya Bhagtani ◽  
Viliamu Iese ◽  
Catherine Brown ◽  
Jioje Fesaitu ◽  
...  

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have high and increasing rates of diet-related diseases. This situation is associated with a loss of food sovereignty and an increasing reliance on nutritionally poor food imports. A policy goal, therefore, is to improve local diets through improved local production of nutritious foods. Our aim in this study was to develop methods and collect preliminary data on the relationships between where people source their food, their socio-demographic characteristics and dietary quality in Fiji and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) in order to inform further work towards this policy goal. We developed a toolkit of methods to collect individual-level data, including measures of dietary intake, food sources, socio-demographic and health indicators. Individuals aged ≥15 years were eligible to participate. From purposively sampled urban and rural areas, we recruited 186 individuals from 95 households in Fiji, and 147 individuals from 86 households in SVG. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression were used to investigate associations. The mean dietary diversity score, out of 10, was 3.7 (SD1.4) in Fiji and 3.8 (SD1.5) in SVG. In both settings, purchasing was the most common way of sourcing food. However, 68% (Fiji) and 45% (SVG) of participants regularly (>weekly) consumed their own produce, and 5% (Fiji) and 33% (SVG) regularly consumed borrowed/exchanged/bartered food. In regression models, independent positive associations with dietary diversity (DD) were: borrowing/exchanging/bartering food (β = 0.73 (0.21, 1.25)); age (0.01 (0.00, 0.03)); and greater than primary education (0.44 (0.06, 0.82)). DD was negatively associated with small shop purchasing (−0.52 (95% CIs −0.91, −0.12)) and rural residence (−0.46 (−0.92, 0.00)). The findings highlight associations between dietary diversity and food sources and indicate avenues for further research to inform policy actions aimed at improving local food production and diet.

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Fongar ◽  
Theda Gödecke ◽  
Antony Aseta ◽  
Matin Qaim

AbstractObjectiveVarious indicators and assessment tools exist to measure diets and nutrition. Most studies eventually rely on one approach. Relatively little is known about how closely results match when different tools are used in the same context. The present study compares and correlates different indicators for the same households and individuals to better understand which indicators can be used as proxies for others.DesignA survey of households and individuals was carried out in Kenya in 2015. Seven-day food consumption and 24 h dietary recalls were administered at household and individual level, respectively. Individual height and weight measures were taken. Different indicators of food access (energy consumption, household dietary diversity scores), dietary quality (individual dietary diversity scores, micronutrient intakes) and nutrition (anthropometric indicators) were calculated and correlated to evaluate associations.SettingRural farm households in western Kenya.ParticipantsData collected from 809 households and 1556 individuals living in these households (782 female adults, 479 male adults, 295 children aged 6–59 months).ResultsAll measures of food access and dietary quality were positively correlated at individual level. Household-level and individual-level dietary indicators were also positively correlated. Correlations between dietary indicators and anthropometric measures were small and mostly statistically insignificant.ConclusionsDietary indicators from 7d food consumption recalls at the household level can be used as proxies of individual dietary quality of children and male and female adults. Individual dietary diversity scores are good proxies of micronutrient intakes. However, neither household-level nor individual-level dietary indicators are good proxies of individual nutritional status in this setting.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 5999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanyama ◽  
Gödecke ◽  
Qaim

More than half of Africa’s urban population lives in slums. Little is known about their nutritional situation, as slums are often underrepresented in standard surveys. This study analyzes issues of food security and dietary quality in East African slums using household-level and individual-level data collected in Nairobi and Kampala. The household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS) is used as a subjective measure of food security. Moreover, calorie availability and different dietary diversity scores are calculated based on 7-day food consumption recalls at the household level and 24-hour dietary recalls at the individual level. The large majority of the slum households are food insecure and suffer from low dietary quality. Rates of undernourishment are considerably higher than what country-level statistics report, suggesting that slum dwellers deserve more explicit attention in initiatives to improve nutrition. Household-level indicators are significantly correlated with individual-level indicators for women and children. This means that household-level data, which are easier to collect, can proxy for individual nutrition up to a certain extent when individual-level data are unavailable. Regression models show that household income is one of the main factors explaining dietary patterns. Hence, facilitating access to lucrative employment is an important entry point for improving nutrition in slums.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Tilley ◽  
Kendra A Byrd ◽  
Lauren Pincus ◽  
Katherine Klumpyan ◽  
Katherine Dobson ◽  
...  

Timor-Leste is one of the world's most malnourished nations where micronutrient-deficient diets are a contributing factor to the prevalence of child stunting, currently estimated to be 45.6% of children under five. Fish are an important source of micronutrients and one that may assist the country's predominantly rural population of agriculturalists to exit poverty and malnutrition. However, a small national fishing fleet producing low catch volumes place fish out of reach of most inland and upland populations where it is needed most. Fish consumption is very low in rural areas compared to coastal, regional, and global averages. This trial is a one-year, cluster-randomized, partially masked, controlled trial among families living in rural, inland Timor-Leste. This trial aims to test and compare the effects of two treatments, alone and in combination, on the frequency and volume of household fish consumption in upland areas as a proxy for improved dietary diversity and micronutrient intake. Treatment 1 is the installation of nearshore, moored fish aggregating devices (FADs) to improve catch rates with existing fishing gears. Treatment 2 is social and behaviour change (SBC) activities to promote fish consumption. Villages in inland communities will be randomized to receive treatment 1, treatment 2, both treatments, or neither treatment. Some households with one child under five will be recruited, and data will be collected at baseline (prior to the rollout of the treatments) and endline. Our study will determine the impact of an improved supply of fish, along with nutrition-oriented SBC activities, on the fish purchasing and consumption practices of rural, inland households. Findings from this study are urgently needed by small island developing states in order to make policy and investment decisions on how best to improve households' diets using locally available, nutrient-dense foods such as fish. Investments such as these are needed to break the cycle of malnutrition.


Author(s):  
Surya Narayan Biswal ◽  
◽  
S. K. Mishra ◽  
M. K. Sarangi ◽  
◽  
...  

UNDP’s 2030 agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasized gender equality in augmenting human capital and alleviating poverty. For eradication of extreme poverty and building resilience for persons who are vulnerable to poverty, SDGs calls for a pro-poor and gender-sensitive policy framework. In this context, a gender-based study on multi-dimensional aspects of poverty is highly significant. Extant literature reveals that females are more deprived in different dimensions of poverty such as education, health, living standard, empowerment, environment, autonomy and social relationship. The present study is conducted with the basic objective of examining feminization of poverty in rural areas of Jagatsinghapur district of Odisha. Seven socio-economic dimensions comprising sixteen indicators have been taken into consideration to construct the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) using the Alkire-Foster (AF) Method at the individual level. The novelty of the study lies in analyzing MPI at the individual level for rural Odisha. Higher female deprivation is observed across social groups and all occupation categories except services. Dummy variable regression analysis also supports the major findings of the study. Complementary Cumulative Distribution Function satisfies strict first-order stochastic dominance condition and substantiates the feminisation of poverty at each level of poverty cut-off across all social groups and occupational categories except for services. The findings of the study have significant implications for developing suitable policies for gender equalization and poverty alleviation.


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