Nutrition knowledge, dietary patterns and anthropometric indices of older persons in four peri-urban communities in Ga West municipality, Ghana

Abstract

BackgroundOlder adults are vulnerable to malnutrition due to sociologic, physiologic and anatomical effects of ageing.ObjectiveTo investigate the influence of nutrition knowledge and dietary patterns on nutritional status of community-dwelling ambulatory older adults.MethodsThis cross-sectional survey involved 120 elderly aged 60–70 years purposively selected from four peri-urban communities in Ga West municipality, Ghana. Nutrition knowledge was assessed using a structured questionnaire and dietary intakes obtained using a standardized food frequency questionnaire. BMI from weight/height measurements was proxy for nutritional status. Data was analyzed descriptively in SPSS. Associations were tested using correlation analyses (−1<r<+1).Results28% had adequate knowledge on geriatric nutrition. Dietary patterns were mostly fair (40%) or poor (53%). Bloating (25%), constipation (18%), appetite loss (12%) and chewing difficulties (11%) affected intakes. Underweight was 10% while 21.7% were overweight or obese (16.6%). Positive insignificant corrections existed between knowledge and nutritional status (r=0.261) and with diet quality (r=0.415). However, strong significant (p=0.027) positive correlation (r=0.699) existed between diet quality and nutritional status.ConclusionNutrition knowledge was adequate but dietary intake was poor and a quarter were malnourished. The associations reaffirm that supporting the elderly to make healthy dietary choices and ensuring household food security is crucial to preventing malnutrition.

Maternal Dietary Intakes, Red Blood Cell Indices and Risk for Anemia in the First, Second and Third Trimesters of Pregnancy and at Predelivery

“…Elsewhere, lower risk for anemia were associated with higher formal education [28], large family size [29], gainful employment and high income [26,30]. Food intakes in Ghana are increasingly becoming monotonous and energy-dense and less diversified in fruits, vegetables and animal sources across the lifespan with infants [31], school-age children [32] and the elderly [33] being affected. Interestingly, 20% of the participants averted iron-rich foods; only 25% consumed dark green leaves daily, whereas pulses were the least eaten.…”

Factors influencing dietary behaviours in urban food environments in Africa: a systematic mapping review

“…Voluntary participation following researcher involvement in school Quantitative studies Agbozo et al (28) Cross-sectional, questionnaire Aounallah-Skhiri et al (30) Cross-sectional, questionnaire Clustered random sampling from three regions of Tunisia Becquey et al (31) Cross-sectional, questionnaire Randomly selected household heads in purposive sample Codjoe et al (33) Cross Voluntary questionnaire distributed to students attending lectures of randomly selected courses Feeley et al (35) Cohort, questionnaire Fokeena & Jeewon (36) Cross-sectional, self-reported questionnaires…”

“…Higher perceived stress levels were found to significantly decrease the amount of fruit and vegetable consumption in a mixed adult population in Egypt, with a more pronouned effect in men (34) . Food knowledge and subjective health status was more commonly reported in the studies of adults (28,46,59) . Preferences, mood and perception of diet quality and quantity were reported in both qualitative and quantitative studies of both adolescents and adults (19,26,27,31,59) .…”

“…More demographic factors were identified in adult women than in mixed adult studies. In one quantitative study of adults conducted in Burkina Faso, males of higher SES, as measured by income and education were significantly aggregated in the 'urban' diet cluster, 1Disordered eating Gitau et al (38)QN ‡ Males adolescent Body satisfaction 1Disordered eating Gitau et al (38)QN ‡ Males adolescent Body image perception 1Food intake Waswa (59)QN * Female adult Food knowledge 3Fruit and vegetable intake Landais (44) /Landais et al (45)QN † Mixed adult Food choice Agbozo et al (28)QN ‡ Mixed adult Food intake Waswa (59)QN * Female adult Perception of diet quality (1) Dietary diversity Becquey et al (31)QN † Mixed adolescent and adult Perception of diet quantity (1) Dietary diversity Becquey et al (31)QN † Mixed adolescent and adult Lifestyle/behaviours (15) Dieting (1) Dietary habits Sedibe et al (26) /Voorend et al (27)QL Female adolescent Skipping meals (1) Fruit and vegetable intake Landais (44) /Landais et al (45)QN * Female adult Snacking (1) Dietary diversity Becquey et al (31)QN † Mixed adolescent and adult Habit/routine (1) Food choice Charlton et al (61)MM Female adolescent and adult Household dietary diversity (1) Dietary diversity Cisse-Egbuonye et al (32)QN † Female adolescent and adult Processed food consumption (1) Fruit and vegetable intake Landais (44) /Landais et al (45)QN * Female adult Eating out occasions (1) Fruit and vegetable intake Landais (44) /Landais et al (45)QN * Female adult Eating three daily meals (1) Fruit and vegetable intake Landais (44) /Landais et al …”

Progress in infections, reproductive health and non-communicable diseases

“…Next comes the section on nutrition and substance abuse: There are papers on vitamin A deficiency among Nigerian children31; nutrition knowledge in Ghana32; and adolescent malnutrition in Ethiopia33. Substance abuse is a real challenge in Africa reaching epidemic proportions everywhere as exemplified by two interesting papers: Effect of tramadol addiction alone and its co-abuse with cannabis on urinary excretion of Copper, Zinc, and Calcium among Egyptian addicts34; and substance abuse among students in selected secondary schools of an urban community in Nigeria35.…”