Prevalence and determinants of dietary practices among pregnant women in eastern Ethiopia

Introduction Appropriate dietary practices in pregnancy are critical to meet the increased metabolic and physiological demands; however, information about dietary practices among pregnant women, particularly rural residents, is limited. The study aimed to assess the level of appropriate dietary practices and associated determinants among pregnant women in Haramaya District, eastern Ethiopia, 2021. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 448 pregnant women in Haramaya District, Eastern Ethiopia. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews by trained research assistants, using a validated frequency questionnaire. The pregnant women were labeled as “appropriate dietary practice” when they consumed at least four meals daily, had a good food variety score, high dietary diversity score, and high consumption of animal source foods during the reference period. Otherwise, they were defined as “inappropriate.” A Poisson regression model with robust variance estimation was used to investigate the association of the independent variables with the dietary practice. An adjusted prevalence ratio with a 95% confidence interval was reported to show an association using a p-value < 0.05. Results The appropriate dietary practice among the study participants was 15.2% (95% CI = 12–18%). Of the respondents, 29.46, 37.5, and 24.7% had a high dietary diversity, high food variety score, and high consumption of animal source foods. The appropriate dietary practice was more prevalent among merchant women (APR = 2.07; 95% CI 1.07–4.02) and those whose husbands have at least a high school educational level (APR = 1.96; 95% CI 1.06–3.46). However, the prevalence of appropriate dietary practice was significantly lower among those who chewed khat (APR = 0.58; 95% CI 0.37–0.90) and among respondents who reported restriction of the intake of some foods (APR = 0.36; 95% CI 0.20–0.65). Conclusion We found sup-optimal appropriate dietary practice among pregnant women in this predominantly rural setting. Additionally, the lower appropriate dietary practice was observed among women who reported chewing khat and experienced restriction of dietary consumption during pregnancy. Therefore, nutrition policy programs and interventions aimed at encouraging maternal nutritional guidance and counseling are recommended.

What Facets of Picky Eating Relate To Eating Concerns in Undergraduate Students?: The Moderating Effects of Inflexible Eating and Mental Health Concerns

Purpose: Picky eating (PE) can occur in adulthood and is associated with mental health concerns. PE is often conceptualized as distinct from disordered eating, but recent research maps positive relationships between these maladaptive eating phenotypes. Relatedly, recent research suggests PE is more strongly related to eating concerns, a facet of disordered eating, via inflexible eating and mental health concerns, but precisely what PE facets explain these relations remain unknown.Methods: A large, undergraduate sample (N=509) completed an online survey assessing PE facets (Adult Picky Eating Questionnaire; meal presentation, food variety, meal disengagement, and taste aversion), disordered eating (Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire), specifically eating concerns, mental health concerns (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale - 21 Items), and inflexible eating (Inflexible Eating Questionnaire).Results: Positive relationships emerged between PE facets, eating concerns, inflexible eating, and mental health concerns. Meal disengagement was more strongly associated with eating concerns when inflexible eating was higher, whereas food variety and meal presentation were more strongly associated with eating concerns when mental health concerns was higher. Inflexible eating and mental health concerns did not significantly interact with taste aversion to explain variance in eating concerns.Conclusions: Considering PE multidimensionally may yield important insights beyond the broader construct. Mental health concerns and inflexible eating may be treatment and research targets in addressing the overlap between PE facets such as meal presentation, meal disengagement, and food variety and eating concerns. Level of Evidence: Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.

Use of a Move-on Component to Increase Consumption for a Clinical Paediatric Feeding Case In-Home

Research from specialised hospital feeding programmes in the United States has shown effectiveness of a variety of treatments for packing (not swallowing food or liquid in the mouth) to increase swallowing and consumption. One potential component used in clinical practice has not been evaluated in the literature to our knowledge. This component is move-on and involves moving on to the next bite presentation rather than waiting for swallowing (i.e., clean mouth). A 5-year-old female with autism spectrum disorder and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder participated in a home setting in Australia. We used a withdrawal/reversal single-case experimental design for a move-on component added to a treatment package. With move-on added, latency to clean mouth decreased and consumption increased to 100%. After the treatment evaluation, additional procedures (interspersal, redistribution) were needed in full plate and portion meals. Food variety was increased to 116 regular texture foods across all food groups. All (100%) of admission goals were met. Parents were trained to high procedural integrity, and the protocol was generalised to the community. Gains maintained to 1-month follow-up.

Dietary Pattern Accompanied with a High Food Variety Score Is Negatively Associated with Frailty in Older Adults

Proper nutrition is a modifiable factor in preventing frailty. This study was conducted to identify the association between dietary patterns and frailty in the older adult population. The cross-sectional analysis was performed on 4632 subjects aged ≥65 years enrolled in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2014–2018. Food variety score (FVS) was defined as the number of foods items consumed over a day. Three dietary patterns were identified using factor analysis: “white rice and salted vegetables,” “vegetables, oils, and fish,” and “noodles and meat.” The higher “white rice and salted vegetables” pattern score was related to significantly lower FVS, whereas higher “vegetables, oils, and fish” and “noodles and meat” pattern scores were associated with a higher FVS. Participants with higher FVS showed a low risk of frailty (odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval, CI) = 0.44 (0.31–0.61), p-trend = 0.0001) than those with lower FVS. Moreover, the “vegetables, oils, and fish” pattern score was significantly associated with a low risk of frailty (OR (95% CI) = 0.55 (0.40–0.75), p-trend = 0.0002). These results suggested that consuming a dietary pattern based on vegetables, oils, and fish with high FVS might ameliorate frailty in older adults.

Association Between Dietary Quality and Postpartum Depression in Lactating Women: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Urban China

Background: Evidence on the effects of dietary quality on the risk of postpartum depression in the Chinese population is limited. This study aimed to examine the association between dietary quality and postpartum depression in Chinses lactating women.Methods: A total of 939 participants from 10 cities were included in this analysis. A one-time 24-h dietary recall was used to obtain the data on food consumption and dietary quality was assessed based on Diet Balance Index. The Edinburgh postnatal depression scale was considered at a cutoff point of 10 to detect postpartum depression. Poisson regression models were used to explore the association of dietary quality with postpartum depression.Results: Depressed women tended to have a more inadequate intake of vegetables and have more insufficient food variety. The median (25th, 75th) of the overall high bound score (HBS), low bound score (LBS), and diet quality distance (DQD) was 9 (5, 14), 30 (25, 37), and 40 (34, 47), respectively. Compared with subjects with the lowest quartile of LBS, those with the highest quartile of LBS had a higher risk of postpartum depression [adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR), 1.08; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.01, 1.15; P for trend, 0.043]. We also observed a significant association between DQD and postpartum depression (Q4 vs. Q1: aPR, 1.07; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.14; P for trend, 0.036).Conclusion: Poor dietary quality was associated with postpartum depression in Chinese lactating women.

Implications of food-for-work programs for consumption and production diversity: Evidence from the Tigray Region of Ethiopia

Food-based transfer programs have the potential to change diets or alter basic crop mixes. This study empirically investigates the associations between participating in food-for-work (FFW) programs and the diversity of food consumption and production. Four waves of panel data from the Tigray Region of Northern Ethiopia, covering the period 2001–2010, are used to estimate a series of panel data regressions. A dose-response model is used to measure how the intensity of FFW participation aligns with dietary outcomes. Results show that FFW participants had greater household dietary diversity compared with non-participants, with an average magnitude equivalent to one-fifth of a standard deviation in the food variety score. When items directly provided by the FFW program are excluded from the variety score, the overall effect is statistically weaker, but similar in sign and magnitude, suggesting modest “crowding in” of dietary diversity from FFW participation. FFW participation was not correlated with changes in production diversity, suggesting that the labor demands of the program did not alter crop choice. Findings have relevance for interventions that aim to improve food security and promote dietary quality in low-income populations.

Diet variety mediates the effect of appetite on dietary nutritional insufficiency in patients with heart failure

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): National Institutes of Health R01 NR 009280 & P20 NR 010679 Background Poor appetite is commonly reported in patients with heart failure, which may lead to a diet with limited food variety. Limited food variety, in turn, can result in dietary nutritional insufficiencies. Purpose The purpose of the study was to determine whether the relationship between appetite and dietary nutritional insufficiencies was mediated through diet variety. Methods In this secondary analysis, patients with heart failure rated appetite on a 10-point visual analog scale from 1 to 10. Nutritional insufficiency and diet variety were assessed by a four-day food diary analyzed by Nutrition Data Systems. Nutrition insufficiency was defined as the total number of 18 minerals and vitamins that were insufficient in the diet. Diet variety was calculated as the number of 23 food types consumed over the 4 days. A mediation analysis was conducted controlling for age, gender, New York Heart Association (NYHA), and body mass index using the PROCESS v3.5 macro program with 5,000 bootstrap samples in SPSS. Results A total of 238 patients (mean age 61, SD = 12; male n = 164, 69%; NYHA III/IV, n = 107, 45%) were included. The mean body mass index was 30 kg/m2 (SD = 7). The mean appetite score was 7.5 (SD = 2.3). The mean number of micronutrient insufficiencies was 4.7 (SD = 3.5), and the mean diet variety score was 12.4 (SD = 2.6). Appetite was not directly associated with nutrition insufficiency (effect = -.1802; 95% CI = -.3715, .0111) controlling co-variates. However, there was a significant indirect effect of appetite on nutrition insufficiency through diet variety controlling for covariates (effect = -.0828: 95% CI = -.1585, -.0150). Conclusions Diet variety mediated the association between appetite and dietary micronutrient insufficiency in patients with heart failure. The findings suggest that dietary intervention aimed at increasing patients’ appetite may increase diet variety and enhance the nutritional quality of diets of patients with heart failure.

THE SOCIAL CLASS MYTH OF COLLECTIVISM: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL CLASS ON FAMILIES MEAL INTERACTION BEHAVIOUR

The class distinction in the Sierra Leonean society is the primary determinant of families access to a balanced diet as well as the level of social interaction at mealtimes. The income earned by families, their status in society, level of education and the type of job they do, significantly determines the type of food they consume. This implies that, social class can act as the arbiter to families access not only to adequate, but quality food. It also influences the food variety available at mealtimes. The study shows that, many Sierra Leonean families experience the problem of daily food affordability challenges, which limits social interaction at the dinner table at mealtimes. Nevertheless, the findings also show that, irrespective of the social standing of families, table etiquette are important to the different social classes, as it provides the foundation for training and socialising children into becoming responsible adults.